Another Stark One
by Darcy Lewis-Stark
Summary: They never knew. No one knew. Except for Happy and Pepper. No one knew that beneath that genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist was a deep secret. Tony is not the last Stark. Somewhere in the world, someone shares the same blood as him. Tony Stark has a daughter... and it's Darcy Lewis. First fanfic.
1. The Ides of March

First Marvel fanfic. No hate on the English. Don't hate the immigrant, hate the language.

* * *

**Prologue Part I - The Ides of March**

_March 15, 1990_

Every sound, every noise rang into his ears. The quiet hiss from the air ventilation… the continuous hums of his computer… the pitter-patter of the relentless rain against the windows… the smooth slosh of the golden liquid moving in his glass. Such quiet sounds, yet they reverberated through his ears deafeningly. Like the church bells that clanged incessantly, the noises rumbled through his brains. He released hold of a glass of whiskey in his hand and covered his ears tightly. He shut his eyes close tightly, trying to block the dark view of the Pacific, engulfed in a thunderstorm. The waves crashed and the wind howled. The sky grumbled and brought strikes of lightning onto the wild sea. He would give anything in the world; he'd sacrifice anything in his power for just one second of silence. Silence can only remedy his predicament.

"THESE FREAKING BELLS!" he roared, throwing the glass in a fit of fury towards the cream white wall. He winced as the shatters of the glass echoed throughout the room. The whiskey stained the walls and the taupe carpet. There was glass everywhere. Broken. He covered his ears again.

_ Every fucking year... I fucking hear those fucking bells._

Funeral bells, he has always heard them, he has always hated them. Every year, as the calendar stops at the Ides of March, it would always ring in his ears.

Echo.

Boom.

Explode.

The deep, earsplitting clangs of the bells reminded him of everything that happened that day, five years ago. He was only seventeen, already spending his third year in college, mastering the intricate universe of engineering, when he received a call from Stane, informing him of the accident:

_March 15, 1985: Howard and Maria Stark died on impact on the roads of Malibu, California._

The drunken man, driving the cargo truck would've been severely punished if he didn't die too. He remembered everything so vividly, as if his memories were made into a film, perpetually on loop. He remembered the police coming to fetch him from his workshop asking him to identify the bodies. He remembered Stane, assuring him that everything will be okay. He remembered the faces of the people who came up to him in the funeral the very next day, offering him their condolences and sympathies. He hated those people. He didn't even know their names. However, he was completely aware of the fact that those people knew how to kiss ass when the heir of Stark Industries have been placed on the throne, vulnerable…weak.

_ Kiss-ass fuckers from their half-ass companies..._

He loathed the day with a burning passion. Everything had always been in his control. He had life on a leash. It was a chess game where he knew all the pieces would fall. He planned his moves, and predicted the consequences. But at that day, everything was trapped in entropy. Disorder and chaos filled the voids of his heart and threw him off-balance. He planned everything. He planned that he'll get a degree in engineering, physics, chemistry, calculus. After that, he predicted that his dad would finally announce his pride in him. He planned to work with him. He planned for a better future.

"Tony, a Stark must always have iron in his backbone," his father would always tell him. But any hint of iron in his body has been stripped away from him that day and it became an annual thing.

A year after that day, he worked his hardest to bring control back into his life. He locked himself in his workshop for three months, and let Stane become CEO for awhile. He got a doctorate in engineering and drew a new blueprint of his life, without the help of Howard Stark. During those three months, he created machinery imprinted with intelligence. One night, after three bottles of vodka, and rock pumping out of the speakers, Dummy was created. Although he felt that it was a fail, he couldn't bring to destroy one of his creations. He also took the time to wire his very own AI, JARVIS, who became his personal butler, assistant, and friend. He laughed at the thought of having a computer contained its own feelings let alone be his friend. He laughed at the thought of having improved the computer so much advanced than the leading programmers in the world. He improved Howard's design of the Arc Reactor, which powered his mansion, and every nook and cranny of Stark Industries. Obadiah just scoffed at him and his feat, claiming it's only a publicity stunt to attract buyers, but Tony kept the Reactor's unlimited power to himself. He trusts Obadiah Stane. He has been a family friend and strong confidant for many years in his lifetime and his father's. But after the bullshit he had experienced funeral, he knows when to draw the line. He kept most of his technology to himself. His innovations were always caged inside his brain and he will only open that cage if the Industry needs it and if he sees it appropriate. Also, in those three months of solitude, he figured out that his parents' accident was not an accident.

Angst filled his system. Sorrow and anxiety became the source of his discoveries and engineering proficiency. The accident was not random at all, he found out. He linked the V-Battalion to the murder of his parents, a secret organization to fight the Nazis, an organization his father refused to join. Tony could have walked on the path to murder himself and avenge his parents. But he took another approach of the situation. With careful thought and deduction, he came up with a solution… a solution that could solve everything: peace.

If there was peace, there would be no evil. If there was no evil, there would be no Hitler. If there was no Hitler, there would not be Nazis. If there were no Nazis, the Battalion would not exist. Howard Stark would not be recruited. He would not have the need to refuse. He would not have died along with his wife. He would not have left his son all alone.

Yes, peace is the answer.

And to enact his peace proposition, he pulled Obadiah from the throne and took the reins of Stark Industries. He took Stark Industries into the path of becoming the world's weapon manufacturer. He supplied the US Army with one-of-a-kind technology, unique and stronger than everyone else. With his weapons, everyone will learn to fear and respect him. The wars would step away from stalemate and there would only be one victor. Peace.

Now five years later, he had all the control he wanted, he needed. He held the biggest intellectual power, an undefeated financial stronghold and the invincible influence in the world. He ate the most luxurious meals. He drank the finest wine from France. He designed the most state-of-the-art mansion to be his home. He wore the most expensive Italian suits. He walked with the richest leather shoes from Milan. He drove countless of sports cars. He had the ladies in his arms. He had everything.

But why does he feel so damn alone and completely lost every freaking year on this freaking day? Living in one of the most spacious homes in the world, why does he feel like the oxygen is being strangled away from him?

_ I need to get out._

He sloppily jumped off the bar chair and slid his feet across the room to the stairs. Dummy wheeled towards the broken glass and started pinching the glass into a trash bin.

"JARVIS."

A stoic disembodied voice chimed in, "_Yes, sir."_

"It's time to- I have to- I need to go." He stammered in stupor.

_ I have already contacted Mr. Hogan to fetch you, sir. I also took the liberty and acquired Flaming Parrot tulips. A bouquet will be waiting for you with Mr. Hogun._

"From France? She likes her tulips French…"

"_From Viel-Arcy's finest tulip cultivator, Jeanne Lamieux, sir."_

"Great," he murmured. He straightens his back, in front of his elevator. He tries to push the button going down, but his finger always hit the cold wall. "JARVIS, would yo-

The elevator chimed open and he stepped in groggily. "_Mr. Hogun is waiting for you in the garage, sir. The weather is 86 F and the thunderstorm is predicted to last for three more hours, sir. I advise you wait for the storm to pass before-_

"It's fine. Happy got his umbrella." He leaned his back against the elevator wall and closed his eyes as it pulls down to the ground floor. The elevator chimes again and revealed Happy with a flat smile on his face and an umbrella in his right hand. Tony simply nodded his salutations to him and Happy puts his free hand on Tony's back and began leading him to the car. The man guarded him from the rain and pushed him in slowly into the leather seats of a black car. Vertigo overwhelmed him and forced his head to hit the leather seats. The sound of the rain was giving him a headache and being inside a moving car only made it worse. Happy gets into the driver's seat and glanced at Tony's dazed figure in the rearview mirror. "It's only 5 PM, Stark, and you're walking like a newborn giraffe. How many bottles have you been through?"

Tony sat up and glared at Happy. "Only one, Happy, and I am not drunk. I'm just tipsy."

"Right." And Happy began driving to his destination.

As the car moved, Tony looked at the window and saw the sky shadowed with dark clouds and persistent rain. _What a beautiful day, _he grimaced. He shot a look at the passenger seat next to Happy and saw a bright bouquet of golden yellow tulips striped with passionate crimson. It shined brightly like burning ember. His mouth twitched and pulls into a small grin. _She loved those tulips._

"Hey, good thinking of calling me before driving yourself to the cemetery. Well, your British buddy Jarvis did. He sounded so stoic, so monotone, though. When and where did you meet him again?" Happy inquired.

Tony weakly laughed back. Happy raised his eyebrows and Tony just chuckled more, not answering. "You'll meet him soon, don't worry…" He'll let Happy meet his AI butler in due time, but not today. He doesn't think civilization is ready for talking computers yet, where people are still freaking out about mobile phones. Tony kept most of his inventions to himself because he felt like people are not ready yet and most of his technology are not yet perfected. JARVIS is still a little glitchy. His voice is very broken, computerized and monotonous. Sometimes, the computer won't even recognize Tony's voice and would only respond to a few commands. JARVIS, however, has been coded with a set of algorithms so that the computer would keep Tony from trouble every March 15th. That is, when Tony is drunk as hell. He'll introduce JARVIS to the world someday, maybe in fourteen years, when the new millennium strikes in and the world doesn't end.

"All right then," Happy replied, unsatisfied with Tony's remark. The car skidded to a stop and Happy turned to him. "Do you want me to go wi-

"Give me the umbrella, I'm good." Tony stopped him and held out his hand. Happy sighed and handed him the black umbrella. Shaking the last bits of vertigo from his head, he opens the door and gracefully goes under the umbrella. The dark sky poured rain with a melancholic atmosphere. The sight of gravestones over the green grass added more depressing tone. He slowly walked towards a small hill, not minding the rain splashing over his Italian shoes. He clutched the bouquet near to his chest, trying to keep the rain from ruining the flowers. Two hundred and thirty-eight steps later, he halted in front of two gravestones. Both did not have the common cross that covered the rest of the cemetery. Instead, there were intricate stone works shaped into diamonds. On the surface were atom-like spheres arranged in a hexagonal lattice. Tony grinned, "Graphene, huh… that's not invented… yet."

In the center of the two diamonds was a plaque made of white marble. Golden script covers the stark white surface: _Howard and Maria Stark. March 15, 1985. Hope for a better future._He placed the bouquet on the plaque and looked solemnly. The gold and crimson colors of the flowers gave a sharp contrast to the grim environment. His parents would've liked that. Nothing is ever discreet with a Stark. Afraid that the flowers' beauty might get washed down by the storm, he put the umbrella over the plaque, covering the two gravestones from the rain. He took out his handkerchief and started wiping the stones and the plaque.

"I don't really talk to the dead, but hi, Mom… Dad," he grumbled, putting his handkerchief back into his pockets, "Just so you know, I'm 22 now… yeah it's kind of an annual thing. I don't really know if they have a calendar there in heave- wait I don't believe in heaven, never mind… I'm still the same, I think. I know I'm kinda tipsy right now, but it's still Tony. Maybe that's why I'm talking to two inanimate objects. Yeah, I'm tipsy. But then, I still talk to an inanimate object at home, drunk or not. He replies though… sometimes. Gotta work on that little piece of sh- oh yeah I can't swear in front of the dead. My bad. To continue this talking-to-still-objects thing, I should let you know that Stark Industries is the biggest thing right now. Well, thank you, Dad. Hmmmm… would you actually say that? '_Job well done, son.' _Ahah, who am I kidding, you'd probably be all, '_Later, I have a board meeting to go to.'_ But then now I'm the CEO, and I am forced to go to those meetings, I can really see why you'd rather go there than spend time with your son. It's so much _FUN. _Everything meeting is like a trip to the amusement park, it's a _BLAST! _Oh, I shouldn't really say blast, you know, you getting blown up and stuff. What? Too fast? Nevermind that I'm drunk. Anyway, Mom, I got your tulips that you've always liked. You know, the flaming birds one? I can see why you like them. They're kind of growing on me, now that I think about it. I remember the times when we would spend the summer up there in Arcy, god, I love France and their ladies. Red and gold are officially my favorite colors, Mom. Kind of like the hot rod that Dad used to drive in the Expo… Anyway, did Stane visit you guys? He'll probably do it later, because I make him do the stuff I don't want to do and right now, I don't want to do anything so he's doing everything. Well, tomorrow's going to be hell. Apparently I have 6 meetings to go to tomorrow and only one of them is in this country. Was it 6 or 8… I don't know. I should get a secretary. You know, a real, living one, instead of a computer, but then my last one almost threatened to kill herself if I don't let her quit. I need one who can put up with me. Someone who can control his/her emotions, you know. Like a living JARVIS, if you would say. But he/she wouldn't really ex-

"Tony?" a voice tolled in his ears. He realized that he has been rambling for about 10 minutes to two pieces of stone. Great, now he's not a drunk but a crack head too. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sulked. "Tony Stark?" He remembers that voice well. Like the tulips against the dark semblance of the cemetery, her voice clears all the noises he had been hearing. Nothing echoed in his mind anymore. Finally, silence…

"Meredith?"

* * *

**WARNING:** _This story will be really detailed. Well, very detailed to my standards. I can't really jump in where Darcy is all grown up and she's suddenly Tony Stark's daughter. I needed a beginning, an introduction, well- a story. This means I will be going through the process of Darcy's infancy, childhood, school life. I hope to bring the readers along the life of Darcy Lewis, how it all began, and see how a person matures throughout the story. Then later on, as she grows up, I will start to incorporate the movies into the plot._

_For me, who has never written a story, it will be a very daunting task. But I accept the challenge for the hope that I will improve my English and writing. I have only been speaking/writing English for around six years and I planned to be better at it. So I started this fanfic, to challenge myself to set a new dimension, create characters to my own liking, mold them and shape them, and the challenge to write recurring characters to stay in character. You will see me tackle writing emotions, intricate imagery, and produce themes and lessons. And also, because I love the Avengers._

_I have been wanting to write about them for while. I have read all the comics when I was a child, I've seen all the movies, the cartoons, that I find myself somehow linked to the characters. However, I don't really know how to ease myself into the fanfiction world. Then I saw Thor- and Darcy._

_Well, you know the rest._

_**SIDE NOTE:**_

_As you continue to read [bless your face, first of all] and you start to feel that the story is getting boring, or__** just plain bad**__, and you decide that you are going to press the 'x' button at the corner, please, __**please**__, please,__** leave me a message or a review**__ as to why and what made you stop reading. Please. It'll only take 1 minute. I want to know. So I don't repeat the same mistake twice.__** Thank you.**_


	2. Meredith

**Prologue II - Meredith**

"Meredith? Meredith McCall?" He turned around.

She was still beautiful. She clutched a black umbrella with her two hands. Her pale, ivory skin still enveloped slender figure. Her long chocolate hair was no longer messy as he remembered, but sleeked into elegant waves. Deep, azure orbs stared into his dark brown ones. Her full lips were tainted red. Her curves accentuated with a sophisticated black business dress. A small grin appeared on her face.

"Not anymore. Parents divorced seven years ago." He pulled a solemn face, but she only shook her head.

"Nah, it's okay. It was unavoidable. They only married for business purposes. I was surprised they didn't separate earlier. Right now, I'm Meredith Lewis." She smiled. He missed that smile. He stuck out his hand.

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Lewis," Tony smirked, "But I'm quite disappointed that my childhood friend of ten years no longer exist…"

"She's still here, don't fret, old friend," she sneered, shaking his hand then pulled it away quickly, "And you are wet, Stark."

He just realized he wasn't holding an umbrella over him anymore. "Well, I have been standing in the pouring rain for the past thirty minutes…"

"And why is that?"

Tony stepped aside to reveal the umbrella covering the flowers on the tombstone. "Flowers are fragile things…"

"Ah, Auntie always liked those tulips." She smiled endearingly. She slowly steps closer to the tombstones and places a small tulip next to the bouquet. It's the same one that Tony brought.

"Yeah, you know, you were the one who showed her the damn flowers in the first place." He puts his hands inside his pockets. Ah, he was drenched.

"Don't blame me. It was that French guy who handed me and your mom a flower when we visited Northern France. I can still remember your mother and myself squealing when he spoke to us in French. What did he say again?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "_Mademoiselle, vos sourires brille comme les tulipes enflammées d'Arcy. "_

"Your smiles shine brightly like the flaming tulips of Arcy. Ah, you have improved on your French, Tony." She stood in front of him, putting the umbrella over his head.

"Nothing the Man of the Year can't do, Ms. Lewis," he flashed a smug smile. She laughed.

"You're still as egotistic as ever…"

"Ah, you love me. Everybody does." It was her turn to roll her eyes and she playfully smacked Tony in his chest. Her face contorted into mocked disgust. "You're disgusting, Tony. Let's go and dry you up."

"Is that your way of inviting yourself into my house?" he smirked. Meredith raised one of her eyebrows and sneered back. "You shouldn't flirt with me in front of your parents, Tony. What would your mother say?"

"Then let's take this conversation somewhere else, shall we, old friend?" he brought his face close to hers. He has forgotten the misery he had been suffering these few hours. Seeing a face that he knew for ten years was comforting to his heart. It brings good memories of the past, when life was carefree and pain-free. Meredith Lewis-McCall was his childhood friend. Her parents worked for his father in the Public Relations department and became good family friends. Meredith was also Tony's first love and first girlfriend. They dated for two years and ended it under mutual understandings. They both knew that weren't meant to be together. Meredith was wild and carefree like Tony. They both challenged themselves with intelligence and mischief. As much as it would look like they were the perfect pair, they soon grew apart as lovers because of their very own similarities. The title "Best Friends" can only link them together and nothing more and they wouldn't want it any other way. A year later, Meredith moves away to New York in order to live with her mother and pursue her own dreams. Seeing her all grown up brings a wave of nostalgia to his soul.  
She beamed. "It's been awhile since I came over to play."

He smiled back and slightly puts his hand on her back and began leading her to the car. He took one last look of the two gravestones. His eyes softened. "Yeah, it's been awhile."

They arrived near the entrance where Happy is waiting outside with a small umbrella in his hand. Happy also knew Meredith and pulled a wide smile when he saw her. Tony looked around for her chauffeur but Meredith told him she went by taxi. Happy pulled her into the backseat and said that he'd gladly take her home, but Tony stopped him, "No, she's going home with me."

Happy raised his eyebrows at him and shook his head and began driving. Meredith sunk back into her seat and looked at Tony. They both smiled. It seems that they have a lot of catching up to do.

* * *

Happy happily drove away, leaving Meredith and Tony alone. He was glad Meredith came at the right time. She'll glad pull him up from the slumps.

Tony gave her a tour of the house after surreptitiously shutting JARVIS off for the night. He whipped up a small dinner for both them and took out one of his finest Chardonnays. They had small talk, talked about their recent endeavors and future plans. Meredith has a master's degree on anthropology and international relations. She now works for a firm back in New York as a PR. She also told Tony that she had become independent of her parent's money and began living in a self-earned apartment in Park Avenue. When she heard the news of his parents' deaths, she was anguished herself. She told Tony that she wanted to come back to him and be there for him, but her mother was horribly sick.

"So I made a plan to always come every March 15, and buy imported French tulips to make up my absence." She told him as she sipped her wine.

"You didn't have to do that," he softly whispered.

"Ah, shut up. It scares me when you become all kind and sappy and stuff." She smirked, "I tried contacting you and stuff but you seemed busy… being the Man of the Year and stuff. So I'm actually lucky to bump into you in the cemetery."

"Ah, luck," Tony took a swig, "Ain't that a bitch…"

"Well, this bitch brought me to this house. And this bitch gave this wonderful wine to drink." She took the wine bottle and refilled her glass. Tony laughed as Meredith shook her head playfully. "So I hear you get mopey and dopey every year on this day…"

"Now where did you hear that?"

"Your little British friend told me when I went to the bathroom."

Tony almost sprayed the wine out of his mouth. "JARVIS?" Meredith laughed hysterically.

"So JARVIS is his name? I was checking my hair and all of the sudden I hear, 'I apologize for Sir's improper actions today, He is not in his best behavior, right now. If he had enacted any indecent actions upon our visitors, please call Mr. Hogun, speed dial #1 on the house telephone. If he had begun throwing furniture in any of the premises, Mr. Obadiah Stane is speed dial #2." She mimicked JARVIS robot voice.

He remembered programming JARVIS to not shut down for any reason every March 15th, regardless if Tony tried to or not. Tony didn't know if he should laugh with her and go towards his workshop and completely shut down JARVIS. Thankfully, he chose the former.

"Just. A. Really. Very. Intelligent. System." He grumbled through the wine. "Apparently, not intelligent enough…"

"Hm, clever," Meredith finishes her sixth glass, and began putting her hand over his chest. "You know… I read something earlier."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow as she silently purred.

"At times like this… there's one cure." She closed her eyes and chuckled. Tony was fully aware that she was drunk as he was drunk himself. He pierced a stare into Meredith's blue eyes. He knew that she was seducing him as she sensually moves her hands on his chest. She maybe his childhood friend, but she also knew how to have a good time. She was always wild. But should he really give in? On the day of his parents' death?

"You've always been a bad influence, you know that?" he sighed. They were no longer sitting. Smooth jazz carried them towards the center of the lounge area. The two of them swayed close to each other as the lilting sound of the piano played.

"Still an influence," Meredith whispered close. His laugh reverberated through his chest in a low chuckle. He held her by the waist, enjoying the feeling of her curls caressing his skin. There was no need for an extravagant dance or food. That was what all they needed—what _he _needed.

She…

She was the only thing he needed.

"You're drunk," he murmured. She was the only thing to remind her of the old days. The happy days.

"Mm," Meredith swayed her head to the music, "You're just blurry."

Tony shook his head. "I might use that in the future."

"Just how many of _my _jokes did you use when I'm not around?"

"Just how much time will you waste not kissing me?" Tony lowered his head. He felt her hands on his hair, slowly caressing the back of his neck. The two shared a lingering kiss. The piano music continued to play, and they continued to taste the wine from both of their lips.

"Seriously? What are you going to do without me?" Meredith embraced him. Tony closed his eyes and hugged her tighter.

He didn't know.

He didn't know what will happen if she leaves again. He can't do anything when he's alone. He needs someone. He needs her.

"Don't leave," he whispered, "Please."

Meredith didn't say anything. She only pulled him closer as the lights began to dim. Her only answer was another kiss.

* * *

He woke up the next the day with the worst hangover ever. Rays of golden light escaped through the slits of the blinds and gave an ambient light of the room. He opened his eyes to find Meredith, fixing her tousled hair in front of the mirror, fully-clothed. She glanced down to him and smirked, "Get up big boy you have a full day ahead of you." She acted like she did not just have a one-night stand with Tony Stark.

Tony also kept his cool and covered his face with the blankets and groaned. _It's morning already?_

"I don't want to," he moaned, "Call Stane. Tell him I'm sick."

"Uh no, Stark, I am not your assistant, "she grabbed the blanket and pulled it away from him. Not minding his naked figure, she nonchalantly opened the blinds, "In fact, your new one is waiting for you downstairs."

Tony pulled himself up right away. Again, he hated not being in control. "What did you say, _Lewis_?" he hissed.

Meredith scoffed at him, "Stop acting like a child, _Stark_. Happy called me and told me that you have 8 meetings today. As much as I want to be your personal secretary, I took the liberty of hiring one from New York. She flew here as fast as she can. I called her in 4 in the morning and zoom, she went."

Tony started getting and pulling a pair of boxers lying on the floor. He turned to glare at her, "Since when did a one-night stand act like my overbearing girlfriend?" Meredith rolled her eyes. "And who the hell is awake at 4 o'clock in the morning?"

"I'm not speaking as a one-night stand partner. Even though the sex was amazing, I'm still your old friend, Tony," she smirked as he smirked right back, "Also, she's one of the best. She has never been fired and she knows how to be mean and stoic. She's my complete opposite."

"So, how is she jobless prior to this moment, claiming she has never been fired before?" he raises one of his eyebrows.

"Her boss died of cancer." She said coolly. Tony was taken back but he didn't show it. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with the French ambassador in New York tonight. I have to thank him for the flower, you know?"

"You are a fox, you know that?"

"Only to you, Stark. He's just an acquaintance." She turned to him, all ready and propped with red lipstick.

Then suddenly, she pulled him into a tight embrace. Tony took a whiff of her curls and smelled his shampoo. He didn't know what was happening but he went along with it and returned the hug. The two stayed in that position for awhile until Meredith's porcelain hand reached for the back of his head and started caressing his hair. Tony breathed out a comforted sigh, deeply burying his face into her neck. He muttered to her softly, asking her to let this moment freeze forever. She gave out a weak laugh and then whispered into his ear. Her voice was no longer flamboyant and light. It was deep and gravely serious, "You're never alone, Tony. You remember that, okay? I'm always a phone call away, if you ever need me. The new assistant will be good for you and you be good to her, you hear me? She will be there for you at any time, like she was for my mother. She's one of my trusted friends. Don't always cage yourself inside your tiny workshop. Get some sun and have fun for awhile. Don't just learn to live and forget. Learn to live the life, enjoy it, be thankful for it, and cherish it. Nothing is wrong about moping around for the death of Uncle and Auntie. But learn to accept the people who wish to help you. Cherish the people around you. Care for them. And I know how much you love yourself, but also, cherish your talents, your brain, your everything… Because one day, all of this might disappear… And you have no power, no control over that. You hear me, Tony?" she embraced him tighter. Tony was speechless but he returned the hug even harder. He did not know that her mom died. All this time, he had only been thinking about himself. He kicked himself mentally and just nodded yes on her shoulder. Meredith faced him. She teared up a bit and smiled. Tony grins back and wipes the tears from her eyes. "Why do you have to make me cry like that? You're messing up my makeup. Go get dressed!"

Tony chuckled and went to get a pair of pants and a black t-shirt. He followed Meredith to the living room. They stop in front of a woman, a year younger than both of them. She wore a white collared blouse and black editor pants and black stilettos. Her posture was straight and gave off a cool feel. Her red orange hair was neatly tied in a ponytail. Tony did not imagine her to be really young. But despite her youthful glow, her expression was completely professional. Her blue-grayish eyes were lighter than Meredith's and they held a serious stare to his brown eyes. The new assistant turns around to get something from her bag. She pulled out an icy bottle of water and popped a couple of pills on to her hand. She stared at him at again. "A cold water bottle, sir, with Tyleno-

"You're fired." Tony interrupted. Meredith immediately gasped and the new assistant stammered with wide eyes. Meredith's eyes furrowed towards him, inciting an explanation.

"I don't like being handed things," he tilted his head superciliously, "It's a peeve, and she did it. Ergo, she is fired."

Meredith huffed angrily. "You can't possibly go with tha-

"I wasn't handing it to you," the woman interrupted her. Tony raised an eyebrow as he noticed her walk towards him. "But since I am now aware…" she trailed off. Meredith watched silently as she forcefully grabbed Tony's hand and dropped the pill on his palm. Tony didn't have time to react as she shoved the water bottle to his other hand. She took a step and coughed. "…then I promise to not make the same mistake in the future."

Meredith silently cheered to herself while Tony took a moment of silence to process what just happened. The woman nodded her at him gesturing him to take the pill. With a sigh, he gave up. His headache was far too strong to actually fight back. He did not say anything as he swallowed the pills and drank the water. The water felt really soothing and cool. He maintained eye contact with her, examining her. The assistant turned her back again to get another thing from her bag. He held out his hand knowingly. Tony knew the woman was new so he'll let her hand him something just this once. "Bread is also well-known for curing hangovers... sir," she stared back stoically as laid a warm croissant on his palm.

Meredith laughed, "Tony Stark, meet Virginia Potts. Ms. Potts, meet Anthony Stark."

The woman flashed him her pearly white business smile and shook his hand, "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Stark. And please call me Pepper."

"So I've heard you've never been fired before... Is this your first job?" He returned a flirtatious smile as he chewed on his croissant but Pepper only deflected it with a frown.

"No, Sir. Although I only had one employer to serve with my secretarial duties, I can assure I have enough experience working with Ms. Lewis and Ms. Meredith."

"Call me Tony."

"Tony, sir."

Meredith clapped her hands and beamed gleefully at the two. "I can already see it. This is a start of a perfect relationship." Tony glared at her but she hugs him again. "Oh, Tony, you won't die, don't worry. And Pepper, don't ever give up on him, okay?"

"Of course, Ms. Meredith."

Meredith hugs her too and jumped slightly as she heard a honk coming from the front. "Oh! That's Happy. I called him for a favor and asked to drive me to the airport. I guess I have to bid you guys adieu. Pepper, thank you for everything. Tony, be nice, and remember what I told you."

She pecked him in the cheek and Tony hugged her again. "I love you, you bastard." She said.

Tony knows that she did not hold any romantic feelings for him and neither does he. The love they feel for each other is familial, almost platonic in some ways. An old friend to an old friend. "I know. Everybody does, Meredith." He smirked.

Meredith just laughed and turned to walk towards the door. She waved goodbye and left.

Tony was actually smiling for once. He met his very dear friend again and he got a new and somewhat promising assistant. He doesn't feel so alone anymore.

"A dry-cleaned suit is here on the couch, Tony, sir and you have a meeting with the Board in less than two hours. Also, at 3, Mr. Hoshio Tanazawa is requesting your full atten-

"Later," he turned his back to her, "You're giving me a headache. I'm going to shower." Nothing should distract him from being happy right now. It was all thanks to Meredith.

* * *

Sorry, two more prologue chapters.

_Oh yeah, please review. I want to know if I am doing a good job or not so far. If you don't review, you're either speechlessly in love with it or abhorrently disgusted by it. I wouldn't know which one if you don't tell me._


	3. Les Tulipes D'Arcy

**Prologue III – Les Tulipes D'Arcy**

_Good morning. It is 7 AM. The weather in Malibu is 69 F with clear skies. I wish to inform you that Ms. Potts have entered the premises and is waiting for you in the lounge room._

Tony's eyes snapped open. He groaned at the disembodied voice. He should've just stuck with a normal alarm clock. "Kick her out." He grumbled as he covered himself with his blanket.

_ Command not recognized. Good morning. It is 7 AM. The weather in Malibu is 6-_

"AH, SHUT UP." Tony yelled at the ceiling. He mumbled a few curses and sat up. He rubbed his eyes groggily. "Some intelligence you are… you make me look like Bill Gates."

He shook his head vigorously and sauntered blearily to the bathroom. He took a quick shower and clad himself with Giorgio Armani's new fall collection. He took deep cerulean silk tie from his drawers and led himself towards the living room. Pepper Potts stood on her usual place, twenty feet away from the door, clad in a maroon suit and pencil skirt, her height enhanced with her own pair of Laboutins. Her ginger red hair was tied in her usual ponytail. Her stare was stoic and an enigmatic smile greeted the newly awaken Stark. "Oh? You're still here? 7 months must be a record," the man commented stoically.

"I'm still here Tony and I have no intention of quitting in the near future." She answered monotonously, "and this is my eighth month."

"I should fire you then," he swiftly replied.

"Try." Pepper dared. Tony shook his head with a slight grin. Pepper Potts is a good secretary. She had broken the record by far the longest. On average, Tony's assistants would only last for a month. One could not handle his hectic schedule and Tony himself. One must have the strongest willpower, and patience and efficiency to be beside a Stark and Pepper Potts fitted the job. She was quite the best, if he had to admit. But Tony Stark never admits.

Pepper grabbed a croissant from her bag and gave it to her boss. Silent dark eyes stared at grey-blue ones as the genius munched the bread. The assistant gazed back steadily as she fixed his tie. No unnecessary words were exchanged when Pepper works. Tony didn't mind it though. It wasn't awkward at all. It was quite amusing, in fact, and he looked for many ways to break that stoic face of hers. He always looked for any hint of emotion. He studied her like a strange specimen. Tony wanted control and he wanted to know her weaknesses. It'll come to me eventually, he thought. Everyone has their own Kryptonite.

"You look beautiful today as always," Tony muttered while she smoothed his suit. He expected her cheeks to reddened and failed.

"Thank you," she rolled her eyes as she finished. She took out a small leather folder from her bag and opened it to remind Tony of his schedule."At 12 noon, the Long Island facility looks forward for your monthly visit."

"I love New York," he mumbled as he ate the croissant. Pepper took out a small juice carton and gave it to her child-like boss, "and orange juice."

"Then at 3:30, you have a meeting with Macy's to discuss the Industries' involvement for this year's Thanksgiving parade."

"We make guns for the Army, for god's sake. Why do we need to be in a parade?"

"As CEO, you have the responsibility of expanding the Industries' influence in the global market. Several international ambassadors are going to be present in the after-party. TIME, and Vanity Fair magazine would also be there to interview you about your recent endeavors as a weapons manu—"

"You had me at 'after-party.'" Tony interrupted her, expressionlessly taking out his sunglasses from his suit jacket to prop on. He made his way towards the door with more careless jokes and has yet to get a reaction from the woman. He stepped out of the mansion to see Happy smiling good morning to him with the car doors already opened for him. Pepper slid inside the car which earned her a questioning look from Tony, "I guess you're going to follow me around, again." he grimaced.

Pepper simply smiled, "Only for your 12 o'clock meeting. Afterwards I'm going to stay in Long Island to review the imports and exports, and examine the investment charts."

"Fantastic," Tony grinned. Tony liked Pepper for her efficiency. She does her job well but he hates being followed around like a child. Can't everybody tell he has everything already under control? He didn't need a babysitter.

Pepper grinned back and turned her attention towards her PDA. Unbeknownst to Tony, she had other plans after his meeting. She frowned slightly as she looked over own schedule.

She stifled a yawn. She had spent all night working on Tony's schedule. Meetings in New York were supposed to be in two days, the 23rd. But when she got a call last night, she needed a way to go to New York without raising any suspicions. She could still remember the phone call word for word.

* * *

_November 21, 1990. 1:03 AM._

_ RING!_

_ Pepper was a light sleeper. She had to be. Tony had the habit of calling her to fetch things whenever he works late in his workshop or whenever he's drunk. She quickly picked up the phone beside her at the second ring._

"_Pepper Potts, how may I help you, Tony?" She rubbed her eyes as she sat up. Her voice cracked in fatigue but nevertheless she tried to sound as professional as possible. But what was the point? It was only Tony. _

_ She waited for a drunken response or sounds for glass breaking but all she heard was an unfamiliar voice of a woman._

"_Ms. Potts, my name is Linda Park and I am the head nurse of Mount Sinai Hospital and-_

"_Mount Sinai? New York? Is Tony in trouble? He can't be in New York right now," she rambled instinctively, grey eyes snapped open. She was fully awake by then._

"_Yes, New York, Ms. Potts and this call is not pertained to Mr. Stark." Her head whipped towards the direction of the clock. After calculating the time differences, she knew that it was only around 3 o'clock in the morning in New York. What could've possible happened…?_

"_Then what..." she said breathlessly, combing her ginger hair with her hands. She rubbed her temple as the nurse informed the reason of the call. She was completely clueless. _

"_Please let me finish, Ms. Potts. I was told to inform you that today, November 21st, two hours ago, that Ms. Meredith Lewis…—"_

_ She froze. _

_ "…has delivered a healthy baby."_

"_A WHAT?" Pepper practically screamed. Thoughts flooded her mine. Meredith has a baby? How could Meredith have a baby? She maintained good contact with her after she left Malibu. With occasional calls, Meredith never mentioned that she was with child. Many thoughts processed through Pepper's brain. She knew that Meredith was alone, now that she's in Malibu and her mother have passed. Meredith also didn't tell her anything about a new lover. Did she get married or something? Who could be the fathe-_

_ Silence._

_ It could only mean one thing._

_ As she stared back into her room's white walls, her brain computed all the data. Malibu. _

_ March 15th._

_Tony._

_Her._

_One night._

_But one thing didn't make sense. Unless…_

"_Oh my—is the baby premature?" she stammered._

_ The nurse just chuckled, a hint of surprise in her tone, "Why, you're right, Ms. Potts. The baby is one month premature. But I can assure you, she is perfectly healthy. All her vitals are functioning, and we see no complications so far."_

"_Her? OH, It's a girl!" Pepper squealed, and then her shoulders dropped with a sigh, "It's a girl…"_

_ Tony Stark has a baby girl._

_ She felt warm all over her system. A precious little girl actually had the genes of a Stark. And she must have the beautiful features of Meredith…_

"_Does she have brown eyes or blue eyes? Curly hair? I'm sure she'd have Meredith's eyes." A thought quickly came into her mind. A flash of worry and anxiety filled her. "Is Meredith okay?"_

"_She is perfectly fine, as well, Ms. Potts. She is resting right now and the baby is properly slumbering in our nursery." A sigh of relief escaped her throat. "I just wanted to inform you of this event. Before delivering, Ms. Lewis requested that you visit her as soon as possible. And as I say with clear verbatim, she told me to tell you that the father must not know of anything that has happened so far. She wishes to talk to you and to you only."_

_ Pepper was speechless. The nurse bid her goodnight and hung up. She still held the phone in her ear, ignoring the dial tone that's ringing in her ears. She continued to stare at her white wall. Within a few minutes, she had one goal imprinted in her brain, one goal only._

_ Get to New York, ASAP._

* * *

A snap in her ear brought her back to reality. She blinked a few times to reveal Happy in front of her with the car door open. "Happy?"

"Tony has already boarded the plane. If you don't get on the jet in five seconds, he won't hesitate and leave you." Happy warned. Pepper surprised him but clapping both of her cheeks to wake herself up completely. She muttered a thank you to Happy and quickly sauntered inside a plane. She found Tony already sipping a glass of champagne and flirting shamelessly with the flight attendant. She sighed. She wanted to slap Tony in the face. He is completely oblivious of what just happened. It irked her how relaxed he was at the moment where Meredith just suffered childbirth. She swallowed her feelings and turned to sit in front of him. Tony paid no attention to her so she just took her folder out of her bag to work on a couple of paperwork. In just a few hours, she'll see Meredith and the baby.

The meeting went quickly than she predicted. And she just smiled as she waved goodbye to Tony as the chauffeur drove him away from the facility. She waited for ten minutes to let Tony move as far as possible before going to the car. Tony was also going to the city. She would have to do a lot of explaining if Tony catches her going to the city as well.

With no Stark on sight, Pepper coolly tells her driver to drive to Mount Sinai Hospital.

"Hello, my name is Pepper Potts, and I'm here to see Meredith Lewis," she offered a small smile to the nurse. The nurse just smiled back at her and led her to the Maternity Ward. The halls well brightly lighted with soft colors of orange and honey. She glanced at the waiting room and saw many people and couples. She grinned to herself. They are all here to see their own little bundles of joy.

She spots a big pane of glass next to the waiting room. She heard muffled cries as she stepped closer. She couldn't help but feel happy and light as she looked over the babies in the nursery. She scanned the room to see if she could spot the name, 'Lewis'.

"Ms. Potts" a familiar voice called her. She turned to her right and saw the head nurse that called her last night. "Ms. Park" They shook hands and the nurse giggled. "You must be so excited to see her. She's beautiful baby."

Pepper couldn't help and just smile widely. She faced the nursery, "Oh you have no idea. But I can't see her in there," she said as she squinted into the glass.

The nurse placed her hand behind Pepper and led her in the hospitals corridors. "This way, Miss. You came at the right time. Ms. Lewis just finished nursing the little girl so now she's fully awake."

Pepper gathered all her energy and tried to contain her anticipation. People would have surely looked at her weirdly if she started hopping towards the room. The nurse stops at Room 4 and opened the door.

Everything was blurry at first. The yellow curtains are all pushed back to reveal a beautiful view of the hospital's garden. The walls were tinted honey yellow and the floors were covered with mahogany wood. In the center was a spacious bed, revealing a woman cooing to her child. A small content sigh escaped through Pepper's mouth and the woman turned her attention to Pepper. A gentle smile crept her face, "Pepper…"

Pepper couldn't believe what she saw. She had watched countless of romantic movies and all the actresses who seemed like they just gave birth did not look near as beautiful as Meredith. Meredith's elegant waves grew longer, reaching down her waist. She twisted it into a loose braid to keep hair out of her baby's face. Her eyes were weary, tainted with fatigue but they still held the deep ocean blue that Pepper loved. Her porcelain arms looked fragile yet they held her ivory skinned child with a protective hold. "Oh my god Pepper, are you crying?"

The little red-hair assistant snapped back to reality to find water in her eyes. She chuckled as she wiped them away. "You looked so beautiful with your baby, Meredith. Both of you looked amazing. I thought I just saw the Virgin Mary and her child."

Meredith just tittered, "Only you, Pepper, would call my baby Jesus."

"Oh my god, you have a baby, Meri! You have a baby! Why didn't you tell me!" she covered her mouth to hold back a sob.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "I did. Well, yesterday. Was that too late?"

"Yes it was!"

She laughed, "I thought so, too…"

"How come you never told me? I have talked to you so many times and you never cared to even say, 'Hey, guess what, I have bump in my stomach and I think it's a girl."

Meredith laughed some more and cooed to her baby. "Ain't she a beauty, Pepper? I can't believe she's mine."

Pepper took the liberty and sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the baby carefully. She had the same porcelain complexion as her mothers. Little brown curls sprouted on her head. Her eyes were a bright azure like the Malibu sky. "She's _divine._ She has your eyes, Meri."

"Yes, she does. She has my curls too. I can totally see myself wrangling her wild hair to get her ready for school," she grinned. A twinkle appeared on her eyes and she grinned widely to her, "I know what's not mine, though. Watch this."

Pepper just looked on with a curious gaze as Meredith takes her pale fingers to tickle the baby's chin. "Who's the prettiest baby in the world? You are!"

The baby giggles lightly. Pepper gasped. After the baby giggled, its little pink lips twitched into a smirk.

"T-that smirk. It's the Stark smirk." Her gray eyes went ajar. Meredith laughed and continued to coo at her baby. "Yup, it's the smirk. She got his face shape as well and the little engineer hands." The babies opened revealing long yet chubby fingers. The baby reached toward Meredith's face and she giggled.

Pepper being Pepper didn't waste on any moment. She quickly snatched her camera than she stealthily kept in her bag and took a snapshot of the precious moment. Meredith gave her a look, and snatched the camera away from her. She reviewed the photo and nodded in approval. "I like this."

She smiles and takes more shots of the mother and daughter. A couple of photos later, she noticed something. The pictures were somewhat lacking. She put the camera on her lap and flashed a serious expression. "When are you going to tell him?"

"He doesn't have to know."

"Meredith…" She lulled. The woman just shook her head.

"Pepper, when I found out I was carrying his baby, I was lost. Utterly and humiliatingly lost. I didn't know what to do at all. I spent a week crying my eyes out. You weren't there and neither my mom. I was alone. "

"You could've calle-

"I wanted to, Pepper, trust me. I wanted to. I was ready to fly to Malibu and knock on Tony's door and say 'I'm carrying our love-child.' I was ready to cry in your arms so you can pat my head like you always do when I'm sad. But I realized something. I brought this all on myself. I'm the one who approached Tony, tried to rekindle an old flame. But I know it's not meant to be. It may seem like he was my other half, but he wasn't. We were just... too similar. Moreover, when I watch the news, I always see Tony in front of some big missile or a machine gun, with some hot blonde in his arms. He still drinks, right?"

"Not so much, anymore. Mere-

"He's still a drunk; I know he won't admit it. He's always busy. He's never home. He doesn't take care of himself. I tried talking some sense to him before I left and that didn't do anything."

"Meredith, once he knows you have a child-

"No, you do not understand this, Pepper. If I told him, there's a 95% chance he'll walk out the door and grab the nearest bottle of whiskey. He hates not being in control. A baby would just make him more of an ass."

"You don't know that..."

"No, Pepper, I _do_ know. I have known him for more than ten years. I grew up with him and all that. I know the things he likes and I know the things he hates. I also know that he wouldn't be a great father. The only good he'd only do in this family is to not exist in Darcy's life."

Darcy. Pepper ignored the fact that Meredith just shitted on Tony's life, right there and just smiled at her. Darcy is the little girl's name. "Darcy…" Pepper murmured.

"It's an inside joke, really. Between Tony and me… We went to this small village up in France. Tony was angry that Uncle left us and Auntie in the middle of our vacation. To cheer us up, some French guy approached us and gave us tulips. _Les tulipes D'Arcy_, the guy said. He had that sexy accent and Auntie and I just melted. Tony acts that he hates the guy for making us obsess on those flowers but I caught him paying the guy to approach us. I loved that place. The flowers are always so beautiful and Tony was always kinder than usual." Meredith smiled sweetly at the memory, "Tony is my dearest and oldest friend. He may be a bastard sometimes but I still care for him. I want to immortalize all the good memories I shared with him through Darcy…. And oh yeah, Pepper, I took the liberty of making you her legal guardian, and emergency contact just in case something happens…"

"Are you sure, positively sure, that you don't want Tony to know about Darcy?" she clarified.

"One hundred percent Pepper. Tony can't know about her. Not until I'm dead." Meredith gravely confirmed to her. The assistant nodded her head silently.

"W-wait, what? Me? Legal guardian?"

* * *

_Seven months later…_

Pepper had finally survived a year as Tony Stark's secretary and Tony learned to accept that Pepper can only be the only assistant for him. He stopped becoming less of an ass to her and Pepper was becoming less expressionless. She began showing emotions for him… a sigh of defeat, a victorious smirk, a frowning disgust, or an ecstatic smile. Pepper was aware of this development and simply knew the reason. It was some sort of feeling that one would give to a friend. Pepper slowly learned to care for him as a fellow human, not a mindless master. She learned his weakness and his strengths. She studied his actions, his predictions and the consequences that followed. She knew where he wanted things should go, and how he would handled. Tony Stark is an enigma and it will take many more years to solve him.

Tony, on the other side, was amused by the course of events. He realized that opening slowly up to someone has many benefits. He had accessed to her slumps and victories. He knew her reactions and actions. And he knew when to draw the line so that Mount Potts won't erupt. Pepper Potts is a friend and Tony acknowledged that.

Plus, he wasn't so alone anymore. Especially every March 15th.

"Tony, you have an appointment with Mr. Rhodes at 1 o'clock to discuss the making of new unmanned drones. Then at 4, you will have afternoon tea with Stark Japan's manager, Hanate Mashita. Please talk to him about expanding the market with China and Korea. Later on, at 8, at the Plaza Hotel, Mr. Stane requested a dinner with you to discuss the making of a facility in France." Pepper droned on, as she flipped through her folders. Tony looked over nonchalantly as Happy drives toward the California army base.

"I want donuts, Pepper." Tony suddenly chimed, "Happy make a stop at Randy's Do-

"Tony we don't want to be late again." Pepper groaned, "Happy, don't listen to him."

"But it's only Rhodey," Tony interjected, "Here's the turn, Happy go right."

"Happy, no."

"Happy, yes."

"Tony! We have 20 minutes to go there!" Pepper slapped his arm.

"But it takes only 14 minutes and 48 seconds to go there. Ergo, I have enough time to get donuts. Happy, turn right."

Happy loudly sighed and quickly swerved to the right lane. He heard muffled honks from angry people behind him as he drove. "I swear you two are going to be the death of me."

* * *

"You're six minutes late, Stark." Rhodes opened the car door for him. Tony just nodded and fixed his suit while a donut was in his mouth. "Donut, Rhodey?"

Rhodes just rolled his eyes at him, "Come on, people are waiting for you. They want to see the demonstration…"

Tony just grunted and proceeded to eat his donut as he walked towards a hangar, "You coming, Pepper?"

Pepper opened the door and waved goodbye to Happy. She turned to glare at Tony. "I think he made up the 14 minutes thing, Pepper." Happy muttered and she turned her grimace to Happy. He threw his arms in the air in defeat and slowly backed up to the car, "I'll be right here…"

Tony walked with Rhodes, making small talk, Pepper just ten meters away from him as she reviewed her folder. They reached the back of Hangar 11 where they were met by men clad in green uniforms. Decorated generals and commanders came up to Tony to shake his hand and praise him. _Things are going well_, thought Pepper. She turned her attention to her folder to check the rest of the schedule.

"Ladies and gentlemen, well, there's Pepper, so ahem, Lady and gentlemen…" Tony promenaded towards in front a small black plane. He smoothed his hand over the matte carbon covers of the plane and faced the men proudly, "Stark Industries have been a strong supporter of the US Army… of peace. However, countless of lives are wasted abroad when we send soldiers to do reconnaissance missions. To prevent this, my father created a series of designs… designs to prevent any more deaths. He introduced the UAV, an unmanned aerial vehicle. Now, a new millennium is in our paths. Eight years from now, world will be open to a horizon. To tease your little army beards, gentlemen, I present you HERMES, Stark Industries' High Emitter Remo…

"Pepper." A voice whispered in her ear. She turned her head up to see Happy beside her. Tony was still doing his demo, "Happy? Can this wait? Tony is still doing his-

"You forgot your mobile phone in the car. It rang so I answered. It's from New York and I should let you talk to them," Happy hands her the bulky invention and looked at him skeptically, "Everyone knows Tony is in a meeting right now so why would someone ca-

"Just answer, Pepper." Happy almost shouted. Rhodes turned around to glare at him and turned back to the crowd. Pepper quickly pushed the phone on her ear and muttered, "Hello?"

"Ms. Potts?" it was a man's voice, deep and severe. Her brows furrowed at the man's unfamiliar voice, "This is she…"

"My name is Office Todd, NYPD." Pepper's heart began palpitating. Her mind turned to mush, "It says here that you are listed as a legal guardian and emergency contact. We are sorry to inform you but…"

Tony watched as Rhodes show his audiences the controls of the plane when he noticed Happy with Pepper. Happy was muttering something to Pepper, forcing a phone in her hands. Pepper looked utterly confused while he heard Happy say to answer the phone. His eyes narrowed at the sight. Pepper answered the phone with a professional tone. He then saw her brows furrow and her hands tighten around the phone. He watched for a couple seconds then saw a face that he'd had never known existed.

Pepper turned pale. Her arms became ashen and she started trembling. She gasped a shivering, "N-no…" and saw her knees weakened. Happy caught her with his hands and tears began to well up in her eyes. Happy whispered some things in to her other ear and began to pull her up to walk.

Tony was about to walk towards her. He couldn't help the sinking feeling he had in his gut. Then he felt someone grabbed his arms. It was Rhodes. "The people are ready to deploy HERMES. General Harris is quite pleased and you earned some brownie points for putting the American eagle on the wings."

"Patriotic shit for patriotic jingoes," Tony replied smugly. Rhodes began to pull him towards the runway to deploy the plan but Tony stopped, "Hey Rhodey. You know how to operate it, right? You can do it. I don't feel like doing it."

The young major halted, "What? This is your demo. I'm not Tony Stark"

"Yeah but I just saw Peppe-

"Ms. Potts? She left already. Happy took her. Did something happen? She looked distraught when she was walking out."

Tony was seriously confused. He had a weird feeling in his stomach. The feeling was not common to him. And that annoyed him. He hates not being in control. "Rhodes, get me a chopper"

"Tony, they need you on the runway. And what do you need a helicopter for?"

"Just get me the damn chopper. I want to know why my secretary and chauffeur just left their boss."

* * *

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," sobbed Pepper.

Every inch in her body was trembling. Tears kept on falling and her mouth was still with a miserable frown. She clutched her head, trying to block out any of the sound around her. She tried to close her mouth and but only helpless sobs escaped.

"I called the airport and they already have the jet ready. It'll be faster this time with the jet stream. You'll be there in 2 hours."

"I… I don't know if I'll make it, Happy, oh my god." She cried. She wiped her runny nose and pulled back a sob. "Oh my god, Happy, I don't know what to do."

"She'll be fine. Don't worry. Ms. Lewis is strong. She'll make it." Happy said seriously, stepping on the gas more.

"We-we left Tony. He has to know about this." she wept.

"He'll notice that we left. And I'm pretty sure, he'll notice that he's missing a jet."

Pepper continued to bawl in the backseat in the car. A lot of things are happening and she doesn't know what to do but cry and cry. She just hoped with all her power that a miracle would happen.

She covered her face with her hands and prayed.

_ God. Save Meredith, please. Save Darcy._

* * *

Part IV coming up


	4. Darcy Lewis

_I changed the dates in the first chapter from 1986 to 1990. Just letting you all know._

_Shoutout to_** Imjustfindinghim.**_ You are awesome and I love you._

_Without further ado, here's the last part of the ridiculously long prologue._

* * *

**Prologue IV – Darcy Lewis-Stark**

_June 11, 1991. 5:29 PM_

Pepper dashed out of the cab to quickly crash through the emergency room doors. She ignored everything around her. She ignored if the people are looking at her weirdly. She ignored her unkempt suit. She ignored the blistering pain from her feet. She ignored her disheveled hair. She ignored her tear-streaked face and her runny nose.

She grabbed the nearest nurse and shook the woman vigorously, making her drop her files. "Lewis! Meredith Lewis! T-the officer called me. He said that-that Meredith…" she stuttered.

The nurse put her hands on Pepper's shoulders, attempting to contain her anxiety. Pepper didn't realize that she was jittering. The nurse flashed her a downcast expression.

"Ms. Lewis is currently in the ICU. She just finished surgery-

"SURGERY?" Pepper felt more tears coming.

"Yes, surgery. She had multiple shrapnel on her face and chest." Pepper's brain ceased to function. The nurse pulled her gently towards a tall man jotting notes on a clip board, "This is Doctor Conrad and he's Ms. Lewis' surgeon."

"Ms. Potts?" the man gave a small smile. Pepper didn't say anything. The doctor sighed and gestured her towards a room. Before opening it, Dr. Conrad faced her.

"Doctor? Is she okay?"

The man just simply exhaled softly. Flipping through his clipboard, his voice was serious, "I have to admit, Ms. Potts, I don't know the answer to that. Just five hours ago, EMT says that Ms. Lewis was driving in the state highway when two cars collided in the intersection. She managed to break before hitting the two cars, but one car wasn't paying attention and crashed into Ms. Lewis' side. She was placed in Trauma Bay One, and then underwent surgery. She is now in the ICU."

Everything stopped. The universe stopped moving. The earth was still. Her thoughts... blank with pandemonium of all her emotions.

"Ms. Lewis suffered deep bruises on her eyes. We call it 'Raccoon Eyes' and it indicated a smashed skull. She has four broken ribs and left arm almost popped off. Both her legs are completely broken. Several shrapnel on her body and face… We just finished surgery but Ms. Lewis is still in critical condition" He exhaled, "As for the child…"

"Oh my god, Darcy!" Pepper felt her knees turn into jelly. The doctor pulled her up.

"The baby girl, Darcy Lewis, I can assure you, is perfectly safe. She only suffered a few glass shards in her legs and arms. One, however, one large shard was lodged into her arm, quite deeply, but no arteries were severed. I'm afraid that one's going to scar."

"W-here is she?"

"In the nursery, sleeping." Pepper sighed.

"Ms. Lewis is right behind this door. She is asleep, right now. But since you are filed as a legal guardian, I think it's safe for you to go inside. If anything happens I'll be right outside." Dr. Conrad showed a gently smile. Pepper forced herself to stop hyperventilating. She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep a breath. She touched the cold metal knob and turned it slowly. As she pushed the door, her eyes slowly opened to reveal everything.

The room is dark lit, heavy with somber air. The curtains are all closed and nothing can be heard but the small beeps of the EKG machine. The monitors beeped soundly. She stepped closer towards the bed and gasped.

Meredith's beautiful curls were hidden by a white bandage around her head. Her blue eyes were covered by bluish purple skin. Her long eyebrows were limp of life. Blood stained bandages wrapped her nose and her lips were bruised, scarce of any red she used to have. Her left arm is completely enveloped with a hard cast as well as both of her legs. Pepper traced her trembling hands over face. Meredith didn't have her usual ashen glow. Her skin was colder than usual. Tears began to fall again. A slight sob emanated from her throat. She moved her hand towards her right arm, the only part that had the least damage. A long IV drip was connected on her forearm. She fought back another sob as she gently grasped Meredith's limp hand.

"What did you do to yourself, Meredith? Look at you…" she whispered to the sleeping figure, "You always get in trouble… First, you have a baby and now this? What am I going to do with you?" Pepper touched her face and arms, "You look like mummy… You know that Meredith? The doctor says you broke both of legs. It would take months to walk again. And you broke your left arm, how are you going to hold Darcy? Oh my god, Meri, Darcy. Darcy's okay, if you want to know. Just a couple of cuts that's it. Dr. Conrad says she might have a scar on the arm but it's nothing bad. A scar is not as bad as your condition right now, Meredith." Pepper went to get a seat and pushed closer to the bed. She held Meredith's hand while she put her head lightly on the edge of the bed. She stroked her hand lightly with her thumb, "You know Tony? Yeah, can't you believe I lasted a year and 3 months with him? I can't believe it either. He's changing slowly, you know? He's becoming less of an ass each day I get to know him. Does that mean I'm doing my job well? I should tell Tony, Meredith…" Pepper closed her eyes and let the tears fall down on the bed. Her heart is too weak for this. She felt helpless, fragile. But she knows she has to be strong. She has to be strong for Meredith, for Darcy, for Tony and for herself or her world would just tumble over. All the responsibilities weighting on her shoulders must be dealt with or entropy and chaos would just win.

Pepper exhaled sharply, to let out a quick sob. She mentally slapped herself. There's no good moping around. If all she was going to do is cry all day, nothing would get done.

"I'm… sorry…" A hoarse voice whispered.

Pepper felt a small force grasping her hand. Her eyes snapped open to see Meredith's hand attempting to squeeze her hand. She sat up quickly. Meredith's azure eyes graced her own grey ones. Pepper smiled but she noticed that the blue looking at her seemed dull… as if there was no life in its beholders.

"Meredith! You're awake. Oh my god I have to call the doctor." Pepper wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to stand up. But Meredith just squeezed her hand more. "Stay…"

"Oh, Meri, you must be in pain. I have to call the doc-

"Pepper… please…" she looked at Pepper with pleading eyes. Her brows furrowed as just tried to speak. Pepper gave in and just sat down again, clutching Meredith's hand with both of hers. Meredith smiled.

"Darcy's safe… I- I heard you, Pepper…"

"Oh my little speech? Hahaha" Pepper blushed lightly. Meredith let out a small grin then turned serious. Her eyes were dark and solemn.

"I'm… sorry…"

Pepper was starting to worry. "What could you possibly be sorry for? This is not your fault."

"I love you, Pep," she breathed out, eyes intently on her friend, "I love you, and Tony."

"I love you too, Meri," she replied, but she couldn't shake off the anxiety seeping into her bones.

"You live strong and long for me, okay?" she sighed. Pepper shook her head, "You're scaring me, Meredith. Stop talking, I'm going to get a doctor."

"Pepper…" she slowly exhaled, "I don't have much time... God just gave me a couple minutes to say goodbye,"

Pepper started crying again. A hysterical sob broke out. She shook her vigorously. She squeezed Meredith's hand more tightly, "No, no, no you're not doing this. No, no, no Meredith, hey, stop this."

"Pepper, hey, don't cry. Your crying face is ugly… I don't want my last memory to be your ugly crying face… " she winced. Meredith felt the pain poisoning her body. The pain was so strong. It was making her numb.

"MEREDITH! NO, NO, NO, STOP IT! I'M CALLING THE DOCTOR!" She yelled. She was hyperventilating. Her lungs were getting suffocated. She can't believe this.

"Please… love Darcy. Like your own… She's a great girl…"

"MEREDITH LEWIS!" Pepper fell on the floor. She ignored the pain when she hit the bed frame. "No, no, no, no, stop this. Please. I beg you. Stop."

"Listen to me, Pepper, listen to me. I'm running out of words," Meredith croaked, "Look at me, Pepper"

Pepper got on her knees and looked at Meredith's eyes. She saw a tear squeeze out of her bruised eye.

"Darcy… take care of her. Promise me…"

"I will, Meredith, I will take care of you too. You'll get better, you know that? You'll be fine. This is nothing, Meredith. You have to recover. Just hold on for a few minutes. Come on, Darcy is waiting for you. After this, we can have a nice cup of tea, right? You always loved you tea. Meri, please. Just, just don't leave. Don't leave us yet!"

"Tony, take care of him too. Don't give up on him… Remember all my dreams."

Pepper started remembering her past meetings with her, throughout those seven months. Meredith would always call her, even in the middle of the night, to talk about her dreams. She always did it, because she was afraid she'll forget all about it and Pepper remembers every single one of them.

"Remember when I told you how I pictured Darcy?" she croaked, smiling weakly. Her blue eyes growing duller every second. Every sigh was poisoned with undeserved nostalgia.

"I-I remember. And y-you'll do that, you know, Meredith? You'll be able to do that." Pepper sobbed, as she tried to gather oxygen in her quivering lungs. She wiped the tears away with her trembling hands, but they just continued on flowing.

"Can you..." Meredith swallowed deeply, words becoming weak gasps, "... do that for me?"

"I will do everything for you. Just don't leave us yet. Please," Pepper could feel sanity fleeting from her body, like the breath from Meredith's lungs. Why was no one coming?

Meredith smiled. It was her usual smile. Her cerulean eyes twinkled as the last moisture from her body gathered a thin film on her irises. Pepper could not breathe.

"Stay with me for a couple of seconds, please Pep?" her breath raspy, "Please, don't cry. Just talk. Talk to me for a little while."

Pepper's lung heaved heavily as she cried. She was hating every second of it. She felt incredibly useless. No matter how hard she was crying, no one seemed to hear her. All was left was the incessant beeps of the machines and the pained breaths exhaled by her friend. Meredith held her hand gently, telling her to stay but all she wanted to was run around the hospital for help. Every fiber in her body was utterly helpless and desperate.

"Hey, remember last week? You called me at 3:23 in the morning," Pepper hiccuped, burying her left cheek onto the sheets to face Meredith. Blue eyes looked up to the ceiling with a nostalgic grin. "You called me, panicking and crying, about how Darcy kept crying because she didn't want to get separated from you. You were crying to me about how sweet she was and how nice it was to cuddle with your daughter."

Meredith started humming feebly. The lullaby was soft yet hoarse.

"Then you told me about how you woke up the next day, and she was babbling 'Mama' while playing with your hair." Pepper continued with broken sobs, closing her eyes to feel the memory. She could hear Meredith breathe more slowly. "Then you had a dream about the grown-up Darcy, waking you up to go the beach..." She chuckled. "You know, now that I think about it. Tony also called me afterwards. He was in Dubai, for a demonstration, and he was drunk you know? He was calling me, asking me to come to him because he was all alone. I think he had too much to drink that night. He kept asking for a hug, you know, Meredith. Then I just laughed at how they're so much alike. I could really see them arguing with each other, rambling about prototypes, and engines. Darcy would steal your toaster and your blow-dryer to make some kind of robotic teddy-bear or something. You would get angry and happy at the same time and Tony would just have that smirk."

"Thank you, Pepper." Meredith breathed out. More tears came out. She doesn't want to look up anymore so she kept on talking.

"A-and Darcy would be this beautiful, intelligent girl. She'll grow with your curls and Tony's wit. She'll be shy yet sarcastic. I can already see this little girl having a snarky verbal battle with other girls. Do you see what I'm getting at, Meredith? You could be a beautiful family. Maybe, if things go well, Tony could move here in New York, you know? Stark Industries is mainly based here so maybe he'll come live here. You could have a house in the Hamptons or a beautiful condominium in the Upper East Side. And then, you'd take weekly walks in Central Park, go see the museums and just... just be a family. So Meredith, if you just hang on..." Pepper trembled as she squeezed her friend's hand.

She's not moving.

"I-If you just hang on, Meredith. I-f you just stay with me for a couple of seconds," Pepper tugged, but she felt no reaction, "Everything will be fine, you know? Meredith? Everything will be okay."

She stopped hearing it. Her breath gone with the cold air. The hoarse, gentle lullaby could no longer be heard. Her pallid skin lost of warmth.

"Meredith?" she whispered, voice tired and raspy. Sanity has left her. She can no longer believe. "Meri?"

No answer.

She tried grasping every ounce of strength and will to crack the vice the kept her eyes closed from reality. She tried to look at the beautiful pair of azure eyes that glimmered with life and joy. But she couldn't. She knew that those eyes would no longer open. She knew that if she looked up to see the face of the owner of the cold hand she's holding, she'd see nothing but death upon a porcelain doll. She closed her eyes tightly, squeezing all the tears out. Everything hurt. Her lungs refused to breathe. Her heart refused to beat. All her muscles only wanted to frown into the agonizing pain, to tighten and constrict like suffocating chains. Her body was wounded, her heart broken into million pieces.

But Pepper Potts wasn't that kind of person. Even if all she can do was to cower into the corner and stare at Meredith's sleeping face, to just cry endlessly at how she gave her last breath with a smile, to forever drown in sorrow and agony, she has to move on. She has to stand up and continue her job.

To keep a promise.

The beep was long and deafening, as Meredith fell to her last heartbeat. The doors crashed open, doctors and nurses rushed in frantically to save a hopeless soul. Pepper watched with soaked, blank grey eyes as they set her body flat on the bed for defibrillation. Lifeless curls sprawled over the sheets, and motionless arms dropped. Everybody was shouting, and they kept telling her to get out of the room.

But she couldn't walk. She couldn't move. Tears fell, burning her skin like ember, and with a quivering hand, she reached to touch her flaccid body. She touched the skin as it started to fade into the brightest complexion of broken ashes. Her throat was dry as she croaked her last farewell to her closest friend. Lips, dry and quaking.

"I'll make them come true, Meredith," she whispered, "Everything I said."

_I'll make your dreams come true._

* * *

oOo

* * *

Tony was confused. He was confused why Pepper started running towards his jet. He was confused why he just followed her to New York. He was confused why she was headed towards Mount Sinai. He was even more perplexed why he followed her in the first place. _What she does is none of my business… _Tony thought. He glanced at his watch, "Six-twelve… So much for that afternoon tea…."

Tony straightened his navy suit and fixed his sunglasses. Not minding the stares of the people around him, he gallantly strolled inside the emergency room.

"What a mess…" he hissed. He hated hospitals. The clean sterile feeling was a deep contrast to the motor oil odor he usually wore when he's home. The smell of anti-septic alcohol burned his nose. He also hated the bright white colors of the hospital. Good thing he wore his sunglasses.

Tony grabbed the nearest nurse. "Oh hey, you're cute." The nurse put on a shocked face, then smiled sheepishly, "Tony Stark?"

"The only one." He smiled smugly, "Hey have you seen a little red-head? Well, she's not little, just a little shorter than me. Business suit, I think it was beige, or was it red, I don't remember. She acts like robot."

The woman just looked at him with wide eyes. She clutched the medicine she was holding and bit her lip.

"Ms. Potts is in the waiting room of the second floor… with Dr. Conrad."

"That little..."

The nurse just smiled at him and gestured him towards the elevator.

The elevator chimed and Tony got inside. The doors were about to close when a hand popped in causing the elevators to open again. A short lanky man came in. He smiled shyly at Tony and apologized. Tony wanted to laugh at the guy. Big black rectangular frames circled the man's brown eyes. A green sweater vest shrouded his thin figure. He wore tacky khaki pants and cheap leather loafers. _No need to be immature, Tony. You need to be serious. You are about to fire your assistant, _he reminded himself.

"So…" the man squeaked.

"I don't make small-talks. Close the doors." Tony said, "Press 2, also, thank you." The man pressed the close button and gave him a wide grin when he tapped the 2 button. Tony frowned.

"Oh! Congratulations! Is it a baby boy or a girl? My wife just delivered sweet Elizabeth just thirty minutes ago. I left to get my wife's favorite mango juice." The man beamed at him as he waved a little juice bottle.

"I don't have a child. Let alone a wife." Tony gritted through his teeth. Does he look like a father?

"Oh you must be visiting then. Sorry for the assumption. Is it a friend then?"

"I'm not visiting anyone." _How does going up one floor in an elevator takes so much damn time…._

"Then why are you going to the second floor? It's the nursery floor."

The elevator chimed open and the man waved goodbye to him. Tony slowly hopped off. His mind was too busy computing data. He has no idea why Pepper would be in this floor. Full of crying infants… and some Dr. Conrad….

He saw the lanky man pass a series of glass walls. The corridor was tinted with melichrous colors and a soft piano melody echoes through the halls' speakers. He spots Pepper sitting on a chair in front of the glass panes, her elbows propped on her knees and her hands covered her face. He was about to call her when a man clad in a white coat opened the door from the nursery and approached her. He immediately swerves to a corner and concealed himself. _Did I just hide?_

He kept his back close to the wall and listened.

"Ms. Potts?" the man with the mellifluous voice said. _Is that the Conrad guy? He sounds lame._

He heard Pepper sniffs and said, "Dr. Conrad, sorry I'm suck a wreck…"

"I completely understand, Ms. Potts. Considering the situation…" _What situation?_

"How is she?" he heard Pepper. Pepper's voice sounded really hoarse and… sad.

"She's fine. The nurse is attending to her right now and I checked her vitals, and they're all fine. Don't worry."

"Doctor, I don't know what to do. I- I"

"Her wounds would take less than 2 weeks to heal. After that, you can take her home."

Tony heard Pepper exhale a long sigh.

"She's awake right now. Do you want to see Darcy?" Dr. Conrad suggested.

_ Darcy? Who the hell is Darcy?_

"Thanks, Doctor but its fine. I don't want her to see me like this. I'm all snotty and stuff." Pepper helplessly laughed.

"It's all up to you now, Ms. Potts. Ms. Lewis assigned you as her legal guardian," he heard the doctor.

_ Legal guardian? Meredith? What the hell happened?_

"I know. Yesterday, I was just Tony Stark's secretary, but now I'm a mom too? Fate is so tricky…"

_ MOM? Did I just her say she was going to be a mom?_

"Speaking of Mr. Stark, is he informed about Darcy? I haven't seen him anywhere? I didn't even know he had a child, until today…" Conrad said quietly.

_ What? What? Child? Darcy? Me? Child? Tony Stark? Father?_

Tony was at first confused… very confused. He came here with the assumption that she ditched him to talk to the good-looking doctor. He came here to fire her. He didn't come to find out he has a child.

And then, he was furious. Furious that something is being kept from him… furious that Pepper knows something he didn't…. furious that the time he found out that he has a child, that child is all injured.

Tony's hands turned into a fist. He let out a small grunt. He absolutely hates not being in control. And it is slipping through his fingers.

"Meredith strongly requested me that I don't tell Tony… she felt that Tony is not yet to be a father…"

_ Meredith? Meredith had a baby? Meredith has my child? I have a daughter?_

"When are you going to tell him, then? Now that Ms. Lewis is –

"Yeah, when are you going to tell me, Pepper?"

He saw Pepper flinched, jumping in her place and dropping a tissue she was gripping so tightly. Tony stood in his place, emanating a strong aura, lurking to overwhelm, thirsty to dominate. He casually inserted his hands on the pockets of his suit pants. He held an indifferent stare behind the honey-colored glasses. The apathetic stance was just a façade.

Tony Stark was furious. Enraged. Extremely livid.

Pepper stood to stare back with eyes ajar. Her pupils contract into small black dots, shaking. Tony tried to figure out the emotions she was showing. Fear trembled her body. Shock turned her pallid. The skin around her eyes was red as blood. Tears and sweat made her disheveled hair clung to her skin. Tony never saw this kind of Pepper before. Her small quivering lips rounded to a small "o" trying to say his name but no words came out. Dr. Conrad swallowed. Tony took the cue and started stepping towards her, still holding an aloof mask. He made a quick glance to the left, seeing a room full of sleeping babies. He stopped just in front of Pepper. She was barely breathing.

"I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. You better answer me, _Potts_," the way he hissed her name made Pepper cringed. It was a true indication of the rage fuming inside him. She swallowed back a sob as his voice grew louder. "You're going to answer to me because I'm your fucking boss. You're going to tell me the truth because I can't take any more of this GODDAMN BULLSHIT!"

Everyone in the waiting room jumped in their seats. Dr. Conrad took a cautious step back from him. Pepper squeezed the hems of her blazer, trying to keep the tears from falling.

"Tell me, _Potts_," he exhaled, "What's my name?"

Pepper was taken back and just yelped, "W-what?"

"Am I speaking another language?" Tony faced Dr. Conrad. He laughed mockingly then turned back to Pepper, "WHAT'S MY NAME?"

"Tony Star-

"Yes! Tony. Stark." He enunciated with a sharp hiss. "Does Tony Stark sound like Howard Stark to you?"

"N-no, T-tony"

"YES! I'M NOT HOWARD STARK!" he proclaimed, "I thought you knew better, Potts, I thought you could actually be different than the shit I've dealt with in my life. I THOUGHT that you could actually know me. That I am not some selfish asshole who drinks all the time. That I am not some bastard with shitloads of money. That I am not some prick who only cares about his job. But I thought wrong."

"Let me tell you something Pepper, I. Am. Nothing. Like. My. Father." He reminded Pepper.

Tony turned around. He inhaled a deep breath and exhaled. Nothing was in his control today, as if entropy is pulling all the strings, tangling into never ending chaos. He heard Pepper sob behind him. His fists clenched. He didn't want to be the villain in the room. But he just felt so angry. Do people really think of him that way? Do people really think that he was heartless man who had no room for a child? He looked up to the nursery room. He saw rows and rows of small beds carrying little sleeping infants. On the far left, he saw a placard that was labeled "Darcy Lewis". Little ivory hands jutted out of the crib opening and closing, as if she was trying to reach the ceiling. That was his child. The child shares the same blood as him. Even though her birth was not planned, she was still his child. The child was Tony Stark's daughter. And he has every right to know her.

But why do people tried so hard to keep her away from him?

"When were you going to tell me, Pepper?" he hissed again, turning around.

"Meredith..." was all Pepper could choke out.

A flash of fury overwhelmed his system. It pulsed through his veins and contaminated the nerves of his brains. Like a mindless drone, he stumbled towards the nursery room. He grabbed the door handle and pulled it. He heard Dr. Conrad yell at him that he shouldn't go inside a restricted, sterile area but Tony stopped caring. Pepper mumbled a "No, Tony" through her tears and went to follow him. He maneuvered towards the crib of his daughter, dodging and shoving incoming nurses attempting to stop him. Then he stopped in front of the baby.

She was beautiful. He never thought he could actually admit it. Her little head was covered with minuscule dark brown gentle curls. The color definitely came from him but Meredith's curls dominated. He sees her left arm all bandaged up but it did not distract him seeing her fair complexion. Her skin was pallid, ashen but it had her mother's satiny porcelain glow. She was big, healthy with chubby legs and arms. Her pale cheeks was tinted a soft rosy blush. His heart almost stopped when Darcy wiggled to look at him. She revealed a set of stark blue eyes. It was a mix of hazy aquamarine and cerulean. Glittering flecks of turquoise shone in her irises. It flickered with glee. Then she smiled at him, quirking one side of her small lips. Her white nose wrinkled with innocent mischief. He knew for sure. Those mouth and nose was definitely his.

He asked himself again. Why would they keep such a beautiful child away from him?

"Tony... She's gone..." he heard. Pepper grabbed his sleeves. She was shaking madly. He took off his sunglasses and stared back at Pepper, her eyes drenched with her tears.

"Meredith... She got into a car crash this morning. I got a call t-that..." Pepper stuttered. It was becoming too painful to revisit her death. Tony just stared at her.

"Tony, she told me that I should... Take care of you. Take care of Darcy. She was sorry, Tony"

He clutched the sunglasses in his hand. He squeezed it until it broke.

"Meredith's dead. She's gone." Pepper sobbed. She hit her head onto Tony's shoulder. He felt tears drenching his suit.

There it was again. Tony never thought it would actually come to him again. He thought he was cured of his sickness.

Church bells clanged in his ear. It tolled louder and louder, bouncing endlessly in his skull. It rang and it rang over and over again until he could no longer hear Pepper's cries.

Even though he felt the shivers emanating from Pepper, the warmth of her tears gradually touching his shoulders, he felt alone. Once again, like the rainy night of last years' Ides of March, he was all alone.

His parents left him. They left him by himself, with an empire to look after. They left him by himself, with a grandiose mansion, no one to share dinner with. They left him all alone in the world. He tried to forget about them. He tried to forget about the past. So he drank and alcohol became his best remedy.

But someone came. Someone came for him. Someone from the past came back to remind him that he wasn't alone in this big world. Meredith, an age-old friend, returned to him. She made him remember all the good times. She made him forget about the sad stuff. She taught him to accept the people around him. She introduced Pepper to him.

He tried to change after she left for New York. He stopped thinking that the way to be strong was to be tough, merciless. He learned that being independent was just not about being alone on his own. He reached out for Pepper. He opened up to her. He learned that the more vulnerable he let himself to be, and the softer he tried to become, and the more he allow people into your life, and into his heart, he'll become happier. He didn't have to pretend to be someone he's not. He didn't have to cower under his father's shadow. Meredith made him feel that he was Tony Stark himself. She made him feel loved. Genuine love.

And now she's gone too. She left him too. She's dead. Meredith is dead. He lost his first love. He lost his best friend.

He was all alone.

"Da...da…"

He suddenly heard. The voice was soft, silky. Adorable. He found the source of the voice. He looked to see Darcy sitting up. Her blue eyes glowed with worry. He felt a soft touch of her little hand on his hand as he realized he was gripping the rails of the crib tightly, his sunglasses were in pieces on the floor. Tony exhaled loudly. Pepper was still crying her eyes out on his sleeve. He felt another pat on his gripping hand. Darcy was looking at him.

No.

He was not alone.

How could he be so stupid?

He was not alone.

He has Pepper.

And he has Darcy.

God gave him another chance.

He gave him another chance to make things right.

Without any hesitation, he released hold of the crib and scooped Darcy up from her bed. The doctor took a step forward him, nervous. Pepper halted her sobs with a loud sniff and looked up to see Tony cradle his daughter. Words refused to come out of her mouth. Her mouth was wide open as she simply watched with utter awe.

Tony put her fragile body on his arms, gently cradling her. Darcy wiggled a little bit and gazed innocently at the man carrying her.

"Da...da." she babbled again. Dr. Conrad smiled to himself. The baby was sure developing well. Pepper gasped and snuck a glance at Tony's reaction.

Tony was smiling. A complete foolish grin was plastered on his face. With a cautious hand, he raised a finger to stroke the little girl's cheek. Darcy revealed a diminutive smirk.

"Yes, Darcy. I'm your Da-Da." he cooed, "and you are my baby girl."

Pepper released her hold of Tony's sleeve to witness the scene. She finally smiled when she saw Tony's face. She pulled up her hand and dropped it gently on his shoulder.

Tony knows how much he hates not being in control. But at that point he let it all loose. He supported Darcy's head and pushed her close to his face, hugging her tenderly. His vision blurred as tears gathered in his eyes. With a gentle release, he closed his eyes to let his tears fall. He hugged Darcy tightly.

"Darcy, from now on, we are going to be together." He whispered yet hard with promise. "We're going to prove the world wrong. We're going to show them what we really are. We're going to show them that there's hope. We have to stick together, okay? As family."

With one last tender squeeze, he looked at Pepper with watery eyes. Tony will have Darcy. As Meredith asked him, he'll open up to her. He'll reach out to her. He'll love her as Meredith loved him. He'll be there for her as Pepper was with him. He'll be there to guide her. Together, they will look at life a different way.

_ "We'll never be alone anymore. Never again."_

* * *

After that day, Tony never heard of church bells ever again.

* * *

_This is my first time writing about someone's death... and sorrow... and someone finding out they had a child. I'm not really an emotional person. I'm mostly apathetic to situations. I'm sorry if Pepper and Tony was a little bit out of character. I didn't really know how would they react. I tried my best to put myself in their shoes, but then again, I'm an emotionless son of a bitch._


	5. What To Do Now?

__**What To Do Now?**

_One week later._

The sea stretched out as far as his eyes can see. The sky was cloaked with the dark night's melancholy. A somber glow of the moon shone over the Pacific and the waves crashed gently on the dim shores with its cobalt waters. Sibilant songs were sung by the wind and the birds, breezing through his hair. He watched the tides crashed the rocky shore as he swirled the ice on his glass with a flick of his wrist. He looked down on the circling cubes, melting slowly like the taming tides.

It has been a week since Meredith's death, two days since her funeral. Tony remembered the people who went to say their last farewells: friends from work, neighbors, and acquaintances. The only people who were actually close to her were Tony and Pepper.

And there were tulips everywhere. Flaming Parrots, to be exact, Meredith's and his mother's favorite flowers. Tony arranged it so that Meredith rest eternally beside his father and mother. Instead of diamond-shaped stones for her grave, it was an intricately carved marble angel. Tony specifically asked a Greek sculptor to carve a beautiful angel holding a tulip from a block of marble from France. The angel possessed Meredith's long curls, reaching down to her waist. It wore a flowing Grecian gown, adorned with elaborate drapery and gold inlays. It was breathtakingly carved, capturing the similar elegance and beauty of the Venus de Milo.

It was perfect to Tony. Meredith was an angel to him. To everyone.

He remembered Pepper shed her last tears for her dear friend as they lower her casket to the ground. Tony only watched the ceremony from a far, to his dismay. He can only so by standing by the car so that people wouldn't see him and Darcy. He was aware that any chance that he steps his foot near the funeral with a baby on his arms, the media would brutally attack him. Things won't be much easier if the paparazzi are tailing his ass.

He figured out that it wouldn't be entirely safe for Darcy if everyone knows her true birth rights. The world would rumble at the knowledge of a new heir to the Stark Empire. He was fully aware that he has enemies in this cut-throat world, and it wouldn't be fair to the child if she has to suffer like he did back. More importantly, she can become a potential target for competitive enemies. She was weak, vulnerable and if any of them takes possession of this infant, the great Tony Stark would meet his downfall.

Yes, Tony was already that attached to Darcy. The moment he laid eyes on her dazzling azure eyes, he knew that she was something meant to be protected. He loves everything about her, cherishes it with eternal affection. The way she touches his cheek when he cradles her is unmatched. The way she giggles at the sight of his inventions is beyond compare. The way she puffs her cheeks when she's hungry is second to none. Every quirk she displayed to him so far has left him to conclude that Darcy is transcendent to everything he has done. She is his treasure. Irreplaceable. She is someone that all the money in the world can never replace, unparalleled with all the material things in the universe combined. He didn't know he was capable of having those kinds of heartfelt feelings. He never imagined himself being a father, after all he experienced with his own. But Tony knew what to make of his experiences with Howard Stark. His relationship with his father became the foundations of the bond he now shares with Darcy. Tony learned to become something Howard wasn't. He promised himself that he would do anything in the world, so that his daughter would never feel the feelings he felt when he was young. Neglected and useless.

Permanently engraving that promise to his brain, his heart and soul, he figured that Darcy's existence as a Stark should be on the down-low. No one should know that she's Tony Stark's daughter. He has too many enemies and too many people capable of backstabbing him. He didn't even tell Obadiah Stane about her and Meredith. He was paranoid that anything on his name will hurt Darcy. Bearing the same name was already a curse, he couldn't and shouldn't add more upon that. Maybe that was why Meredith kept her away from him. She believed that his world was too dangerous for her. But with her gone, Tony vowed that he will make sure that harm won't ever reach his daughter's way. He will take on Meredith's job and prove everyone that he can be a father.

"She's asleep," a voice whispered, pulling Tony back to reality. He turned around to find Pepper leaning her body on the glass doors of the balcony. She wore a small smile, but once she was a glass in Tony's hand, hearing ice hit the walls of his drink, she frowned, "Are you drinking again?"

He replied with a smug smile while steals a sip from his glass. Pepper gasped, crossing her arms on her chest. She began to open her mouth to reprimand Tony but he just chuckled.

"Is drinking water not allowed too? Relax, Grandma," he smirked as he shook the glass in front of her face.

Pepper pushed the glass way in vexation and shot him an austere glare. "Don't call me Grandma. I'm younger than you."

"Don't treat me like an alcoholic." He snapped back in a mocking tone. Pepper playfully shrugged.

"Darcy's asleep?" Tony asked as he looked back to the sea again with pensive eyes. Pepper walked in the terrace, leaning on the rails beside him. "I just said she is."

The genius grumbled back as he took another sip, still pondering. Pepper took it as a cue to pull out a green folder from her bag and gave it to him. He hissed for he doesn't like being handed things but Pepper didn't care and just shoved it to him. He sent her a suspicious look while he opened the folder. The woman looked on in her usual secretary stance, standing straight and hands together. Tony skimmed the first page, and his hands immediately tightened, wrinkling the green folder.

"They are adoption papers." Pepper stated blatantly.

"I can see that." Tony voiced with venom.

"If you sign it, it means that you agree on relinquishing all your rights of Darcy."

He turned the page and gritted his teeth. He flipped more pages, not reading it. Then he clapped the folder close and shoved it back to Pepper. She returned a stoic look.

"I'm not signing that piece of crap. Not now. Not ever." Tony turned his back to Pepper. He looked again at the sea stretching out of the horizon. He grabbed his glass and drinks the whole glass, crushing the ice cubes with anger. He couldn't believe Pepper would actually ask him if he wants to give Darcy up for adoption. Has she not heard of all the things he yelled back in the hospital-

"All right, then." He heard. He swiftly turned back around to face Pepper, now wearing a smug expression. Tony wanted to ask '_what?' _but no sound came out. Pepper smirked even wider.

Then suddenly, she pulled the first paper from the folder and holds in front of his face with her two hands. The words "Childcare Services of the State of California" replaced Pepper's face, and he still held a confused look. With one last grin, Pepper brought one hand down, ripping the paper in half. She pierced a stare at Tony's eyes as she continued to rip the paper piece by piece. She then gathered all the bits of paper in one hand and threw them off the balcony. She followed by tossing the folder into the sea too. Tony just watched as the paper fly wistfully with the breeze as Pepper wiped her hand of any paper leftover. He faced her again and she smirked.

"I'm just checking." Pepper grinned, "I knew you would say no."

Tony shook his head in defeat. "That's a complete waste of paper then…" he sneers, "And you've just polluted the Pacific Ocean in front of the guy trying to make a greener Earth. That's why I made the arc reactor."

"But the look on your face… it was priceless." Pepper teased. Tony arched his eyebrows in amusement.

After that, they spun their bodies towards the view of the ocean again, leaning their elbows on the railing. They shared a moment of peaceful quiet, just listening to the waves and enjoying the summer breeze. Silence was never awkward between them. They both enjoyed it. Even though everyone in the world can speak it, they utilize it to create a new way of communicating. Silence gave both of them power. The power to think. It kept them from being brash and unprepared. For them, words are jaded, over-used. They see no need of talking. They both believe that actions do speak louder than words.

Tony looked at her as Pepper dropped a gentle hand on his shoulder. Her gaze was troubled yet a hint of endearment showed through. Tony knew this look. This meant that she wanted to talk to him as a friend not an assistant.

"What are we going to do, Tony?" she sighed. He offered a small flat smile, "We take care of her, of course."

"But how? It's not exactly easy for you to just come out with an infant in your arms."

"I have a plan." Tony said confidently, "We keep this a secret. She's too weak for my world, Pep." He sighed. "That's why I have come to the conclusion that she stays with you."

Pepper frowned. "Tony, you just told me five seconds ago that you don't want to give her up."

"I'm not giving her up," he explained, "You are also her legal guardian. Meredith expected you to take after her… not me."

"Oh please. Come back to me when you really donate that robot Dummy to a city college then we'll talk about neglect," she rolled her eyes at him. "Besides my dingy apartment is not exactly a good home for a 7 months old baby."

"Easy, you can come live here," he coolly replied but Pepper just returned a scoff.

""Really? That's the best you can come with? I thought you're the genius here, Tony," she grimaced. "Wouldn't it be more suspicious if people find out your secretary moved in with you? With a baby in her arms?"

Tony paused. Then he recovered. "I'll buy a house then. Take a spin around the neighborhood, find something you like and you got it," he snapped his fingers, completely nonchalant. Pepper buried her face on her palms in reply.

"No, I will not let you buy me a house." She groaned.

"Either you move in with me, Potts, or I buy you a house. A or B." he pursued aloofly.

Pepper gave him a glare.

"All right, fine. How about I just use one of the rooms that have high level security? It's upstairs next to my room. No one would be able to go inside except for you and me. It has the view of the Pacific, an elevator to my shop, and a miniature library. It's all clean and ready, just needs a paint job and new furniture."

She narrowed her eyes. "I never saw this room before."

"No one did. Not in seven years," he sighed, "It used to be my father's office."

Pepper stared in surprise and then shook her head, "No, we can't use your dad's office. _Howard Stark_'s office."

""It used to be, if I need to emphasize again. This is now Tony Stark's house. That room is ergo, Tony Stark's and Tony Stark is now giving it to Darcy Stark." he pointed his finger to her, "Besides, there's nothing inside that room anymore besides bookshelves of engineering books and a drawing table. Most of his blueprints are in my shop or god knows where."

Pepper sighed in defeat. "All right."

"Also, I want Darcy to retain the name Lewis as a precaution." he added.

"Done and done. Darcy will be called Darcy Lewis in public and she will be living with her legal guardian, I, Virginia Potts. This birth certificate was the one the Meredith first certified." Pepper took out a black folder from her bag and hands it Tony. "It contains two birth certificates. One says "Darcy Lewis" and the other says "Darcy Lewis-Stark". The latter will be for your eyes only, containing high level clearance, the same one protecting all your blueprints in Stark Industries. The former will be handed to the State of California for future uses such as educational purposes, healthcare and job applications."

"Very good," Tony complimented as he closed the folder. "As usual, Ms. Potts."

"That is why I am the best, Mr. Stark," Pepper smiled her usual business smile, "Anything else?"

Tony switched back his gaze to the vast stretches of the ocean, breathing a little easier now. "Come early tomorrow to order the furniture with JARVIS and to change Darcy's diaper. I still don't want to do that."

"The AI? He's already fixed?"

"That's what I'm doing tonight."

"Very well, I will be here at 7 am sharp. Will that be all for today, Mr. Stark?" Pepper smiled.

"Yes, that will be all, Ms. Potts."

The assistant nodded and turned away to go. He smiled flatly and watched as she headed out for the door. He left the balcony and made his way towards the stairs. He reached his room and opened the door quietly to sneak a peek at the bed. Darcy was sleeping peacefully on the middle of his large bed. Her porcelain skin glowed with the moonlight shine. His dark brown eyes softened as he heard her snore lightly. He stepped in silently and carefully arranged the small pillows around her like a barricade. A timid kiss to the forehead and an inward 'Good night' was said before he walked out of the room.

"JARVIS?" he said, while walking down to his computers.

_Yes, sir?_

"All eyes on Darcy while I'm at the shop. I'll be up all night to upgrade your application modulations, search algorithms, and mathematical optimization and computations. You gotta live up to your name, you know?" he ordered, clapping his hands.

_Certainly, sir. Camera 1 and 2 is live for your discretion, and the computers are already booted up for your updates._

"Good," he rubbed his hands together.

"Let's make you intelligent for once, JARVIS."

* * *

_Good morning, sir. It is 7 am. The weather in Malibu is 52 degrees with scattered skies, southwest winds at 5 miles per hour to 10 miles per hour. _

Tony's eyes snapped open. He realized that he wasn't lying on his soft bed. In place of a fluffy pillow was the cold hard surface of his keyboard. He spent all night adding new updates to his AI, fixing his software, and expanding the limits of his computer's algorithms. He added new permutations for logic and information so that it can protect Darcy in the house. He looked up to his computer screen, showing that the updates has reached 100% and fully prepped and ready. He leaned back to his chair to witness the fruits of his all-nighter.

"JARVIS, which mountain has the longest name in the world?"

_I do not see the significance of your question but judging by the simpering intonation of your voice, I may as well go along with it. In English, sir?_  
It's already working, he smirked. "Surprise me."

_The Taumata whakatangihanga koauau o tamatea turi pukakapiki maunga horo nuku pokai whenua kitanatahu is the Māori name for a hill, 305 meters high, close to Porangahau, south of Waipukurau in southern Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. The name contains eighty-five letters and natives prefer to use the abridged version, which consist of fifty-seven letters, Taumatawha- _

"Okay, you can stop. I just wanted to hear you say that word in your accent. Let's move on with the hard stuff. When is Darcy's birthday?"

_Ms. Darcy Lewis's day of birth occurred on the 21__st__ day of November, 1990. Would you like me to make an annual reminder, sir?_

"No need. I won't forget my daughter's birthday."

_Of course, sir. _

"I installed electronic keypads with fingerprint and retinal scanners where?"

_The newly biometric identifiers were recently installed for the security of your workshop, your bedroom, Ms. Darcy's new room and the premises' entrance. Would you like me to configure restrictions and safety precautions for the locks, sir?_

"Only Pepper and I can go inside my workshop and Darcy's room."

_Very well, sir. Ms. Potts' retinal signature and yours have been integrated into my mainframe and locks. I trust that you also have a numerical password in mind?_

"Yup, it's Darcy's birthday."

_The password for your workshop and Ms. Darcy's room will be 112190. Awaiting your confirmation._

"Confirmed. Oh, and JARVIS?"

_Yes, sir?_

"About Darcy… She must-

_Matters concerning the existence of Ms. Darcy Lewis as your daughter are completely confidential. Sensitive information can only be read to you and Ms. Potts, until further instructions. _

"Perfect. You're now a perfect smart-ass, JARVIS. Well done." Tony grinned, patting himself in the back for the wondrous feat.

_I don't understand this "smart-ass" reference, sir._

"And the intelligence is gone… Remind me to develop a personality for you later,"

_To which date, sir? _

"Nevermind…" Tony sighed. He'll have to add sarcasm to his linguistic understanding later on.

_Very well, sir. I should inform you that Ms. Potts have entered the premises. Shall I brief her of the information at hand?_

"Yeah, sure go ahead. Wait, does she have coffee with her?"

_Three cups, sir. I am sure two of them are for you._

"Great."

* * *

Tony continued on working in his computer. Developing new softwares and improving weapon designs for his company was his job after all. AC/DC blared throughout the speakers as he worked but it all soon stopped as he heard the door open.

"Please don't turn down my music," he said with his usual indifference, continuing on his task. He heard the clicks of stilettos growing louder towards him. Two cups of coffee drops on his desk and a croissant sandwich followed.

"Mr. Stark." Pepper smiled. Tony grabbed one of his cups and started chugging it. "I find that your all-nighter was productive."

"JARVIS briefed you?" he asked, still drinking his coffee.

"Yes, and this time I didn't scream like a little girl when a disembodied voice starting talking to me." Pepper laughs.

"I wished I recorded that." Tony smirked.

_All footage from Camera 4 in the lounge room has been recorded and stored in your computer, sir._

Pepper gasped and glared at Tony. He just laughed. "I'm starting to like you, JARVIS."

_I wish I could say the same, sir._

"Yup. Its decided. I'll definitely give you a personality." Tony declared, after finishing one cup of his coffee. Pepper just stared at him wide-eyed.

"You can do that?"

"Sure, why not? It's no fun if he has no feelings. Although you were quite amusing when you used to be all emotionless and stuff." Tony shrugged and then smugly grinned.

"I am glad that I am entertaining you." Pepper sighed, then grabbing a folder from her bag. With one deep breath, she read him his schedule, "I informed Mr. Stane that you will be working at home all week to improve new missiles. He said that he will sojourn in Afghanistan for awhile to acquire field space for weapons testing, for a week approximately. Then he said he will be in Finland to merge interests with Nokia. That will also take a week and he'll be heading to Illinois to talk with Motorola. He insists that you take all the time you need to make new weapons."

"Perfect." Tony wheeled his chair towards his work space and started pulling blueprints from a drawer and laying them out on the table, "I can work on these babies and spend time with my own baby."

"Not quite, Tony. You still have a pending interview with Vanity Fair and Forbes Magazine."

"But I have to take care of Darcy," he countered.

"I'll be here while you go to Los Angeles."

"No, cancel it."

"But Vanity Fa-

_Sir, I am afraid Ms. Darcy has woken up. She requires your attention right away. _

_"_ Darcy's awake. I think my child needs a diaper change so Daddy needs to go now. Can you bring my coffee on the way up? Thanks Pep." Tony suddenly stood up and makes a run for the door.

Pepper loudly sighed and squeezed the bridge of her nose in defeat.

She grabbed her coffee and Tony's and started walking upstairs. As she climbed the stairs, Darcy's cried grew louder and she heard Tony make childish noises to calm her.

"I thought you didn't want to change diapers!" Pepper yelled in the stairs.

"People change, Pepper!" Tony yelled back. Darcy's cries grow louder.

Despite her exasperation, she couldn't help but smile. She can't wait to see the great Tony Stark change a diaper.


	6. Darcy's New Room

**Darcy's New Room**

"Which one is better? The Delta Canton 4-in-1 Convertible Crib or the DaVinci Emily Convertible?" Pepper skimmed through a baby magazine. She loftily sat on the living room chaise, picking out furniture pieces for Darcy's room.

_The Delta Canton Crib can be converted to a daybed, a full-size bed, and a toddler bed and as well as the DaVinci Emily crib. However, the Delta Canton crib does not come with railing for the toddler bed. Shall I add the DaVinci Emily Crib on the list, Ms. Potts?_

"Yes, add that one then. The finish?" Pepper added.

_There is an espresso and a cherry red finish, ma'am. I recommend that you pick a finish that will effectively accommodate with the room's overall tone._

"Oh right, we have to pick a color for the room. Darcy seems like an energetic baby, should we go for yellow?"

_Please turn towards your right to face the television. A rendering of the room will be shown momentarily. _

Pepper obeyed the intangible voice and shifted her body to face the plasma television. She still didn't grasp the concept of plasma definitions in a television. Tony just said it was just an experimental thing and he promised that it'll improve later on. She took a sip of her orange juice as the screen turns on to reveal an image of Darcy's room. She chokes at the sight of the room.

When first Tony talked about his father's office, she expected to see a medium-sized room enclosed by four walls. She expected to see just a wall of book shelves and a drawing table in the center. When Tony said about a view of the Pacific, she figured there were only big windows covering a wall. But after seeing a photo of the room, she realized that she better stop underestimating a Stark.

With mouth ajar, the screen reveals a floor plan of the room. "Oh my god…"

Instead of four walls, there were six. It was as if an octagon was cut up in half. Three of the walls were covered with massive window panes, giving a wide panoramic view of the ocean. Next to the three walls were two containing an arcade of bookshelves, filled with a plethora of books. Two leather chaises sits in front of the center wall to provide the reader sufficient sunlight to read. The walls were tinted a neutral calico color. The floor was covered with a deep chocolate shade that went well with the mahogany finish of the bookshelves. The ceiling only held few lights; no fancy chandeliers distracted the natural beauty of the room. The oak finish of it gave the room more elegant radiance that one would only find in modern day furniture catalogs. The overall design was simple and clean but Pepper couldn't help but stare with awe.

"Tony!" she yelled, her gray eyes still on the screen, "Are you done yet?! Come over here!"

She heard Tony groan loudly, "Changing a diaper is serious business! Don't rush me, woman!"

_Shall I start the rendering, ma'am?_

"No, not yet, JARVIS. I'll wait for Tony," Pepper spoke gently but yelled again, "Come here!"

Footsteps thudded from the stairs, and she heard him mutter a few curses. "Goddamn, woman. You know how hard it is to close the damn diaper." Tony felt a sharp glare shoot towards him, "Oh shit, I'm sorry, Darcy. Daddy won't curse again."

Tony came down to the stairs and headed towards the sofa next to Pepper. She smiled at the sight of Darcy, cleanly changed. She stretched her arms out for the girl and Tony slumped back to the couch, sighing out of fatigue. "So, what's up?"

Pepper cooed, "Good morning, baby girl" to Darcy and stuck her hand in her bag to get a fresh bottle of milk for her. "We're designing her room," she said as she fed Darcy, "You never told me that the room is so… _vast._ And the designs… it's just ingenious."

"I did mention that it was my dad's right? He'd been a fan of Art Nouveau and Minimalism." He shrugged, "So what are we doing?"

"Well, we got the necessities done: cabinets, drawers, chairs, toys, child-proof stuff, lighting, high-chairs, a small bath-tub, baby food, milk, shampoo, lotion, and new clothes. I just picked a crib but the finish will depend on the colors of the room. JARVIS?"

_Incorporating sunshine yellow for all the walls… Rendering complete. _

"No, it's too bright. We already got millions of windows in the room. Let's stay on the neutral side, shall we?" Tony commented.

_Incorporating a golden tint over the neutral calico color… rendering complete._

"Okay, that's good." Pepper nodded with approval simultaneously with Tony, "How about the carpet, Tony?"

"I think its fine. If you need bright colors, do it with the furniture. Add red. And plus, I don't want to paint nor tear the carpet away."

"Fine. Do you want to keep the previous furniture?"

"Yeah. Let's make this room homely as possible. After all, Darcy will basically live here, you know, because of the whole Tony-Stark's-daughter's-existence-shrouded-in-secr ecy thing?"

"Well, she can't possibly live here for the rest of her life. Are you trying to make a new Disney Princess?"

"No way, Darcy is way too cool to be a Disney Princes. She's a Stark Princess." Tony smirked at Darcy who was giggling at him with twinkling smiling eyes. "She'll stay here. For now. We'll discuss it when the time comes. JARVIS, can you add one room for the bedroom, and one small one for a bathroom. Also, make space for a kitchenette."

_Certainly, sir. Do you have any color themes in mind?_

"Surprise us."

_Rendering…_

"Really, Tony?" he heard Pepper. He turned his gaze away from the screen and looked at Pepper, who was holding Darcy under her shoulders. He arched his eyebrows, feigning innocence.

"Really? You put _duct tape_ on her diaper?" Pepper stared bluntly, "What? You couldn't find a stapler?"

"The damn thing wouldn't stick!" Tony defended himself but he only received a dirty look.

Darcy only giggled as Pepper set her down on the chaise to peel off the duct tape. Tony watched her as she took the tabs from the sides and stuck it on the front. "Oh, that's where it goes…"

_Rendering complete, sir._

The room underwent a radical change. The appearance changed from a modern home office to a _home._

"It's… perfect." Pepper lulled.

Five more walls stood on the left of the room. Three were colored with a peaceful mocha orange, surrounding one wall of windows like a trapezoid. A warm hazelnut brown carpet veiled the floor, giving the small area a calming, soothing aura. The windows gave radiance over an off-white rocking chair, gleaming from the golden leafy ornaments entwining the arms and the feet of the cherry red wood. Opposite of the rocking chair was the crib Pepper had chosen, painted with an espresso oak finish. The miniscule bed was already made, adorned by a deep apricot linen sheets and burgundy red cotton pillows. A blanched armoire stood next to the crib, poised with ivory sophistication.

Outside the bedroom were the living room and the kitchen. Fluffy pillows were scattered on top of a circular white sheepskin rug for Darcy to play in. it was surrounded by two black sofa suites so Pepper and Tony can watch her play. Just between the bedroom and the lounge area were two oak chaises facing the view of the Pacific in case the two wanted to relax for a while. Howard Stark's bookshelves were not forgotten and were placed the walls, enlightening the room with a classy feel. A glossy ivory grand piano reigned left of the bedroom, evoking a serene, calming nature of the miniscule library.

"A piano?" Pepper turned to Tony.

"Yeah, I want Darcy to learn how to play the piano… and the violin, the cello, the trumpet, the saxophone…."

"Whoa, whoa, hold up there, tiger mom." Pepper raised her palm up to stop Tony, "Darcy is only seven months old. There's no need to rush the precious thing. And you need to lay off on the parenting books."

"I used to be neighbors with the Chua's when I was a kid. They were awesome people. And my mom was influenced by Mrs. Chua. After a week of meeting them, next thing I know I was learning the violin with their sons."

"You know how to play the violin?" Pepper was shocked. Darcy chortled.

"Of course." Tony shrugged, "So how do you like the floor plan?"

Pepper smiled, "I love it. Darcy, how do you like your room?" she cooed to the baby. Darcy smiled and clapped her hands. Tony smiled back and reached his hand to ruffle Darcy's hair.

_I shall contact the stores now for the specified furniture and appliances. It would take at least 3 days to deliver. I trust you want to keep this clandestine, sir?_

"Yeah, send it all to Happy's apartment." Tony said coolly.

"You're going to tell Happy?" Pepper asked.

"I trust him. And we might need a babysitter someday," he smirked.

_Certainly, sir. Mr. Hogan will be contacted to come here shortly_

"Thank you, JARVIS." Pepper smiled. She saw Tony stand up to head towards downstairs to his workshop, "Where are you going?"

"I have to work on DUMMY and the elevator towards Darcy's new room. I am not carrying furniture." Tony shouted back, "Bring Darcy in later."

"Are you crazy? I'm not bringing your daughter inside your workshop!"

"I can't hear you," Tony just droned on, slowly disappearing. Pepper only sighed and faced Darcy who was now playing with her bottle. She scooped her up to cradle her and tickled her chin. "I can't believe your dad used duct tape to close your diapers. Come on, let's get you all cleaned up and ready. Uncle Happy will be happy to see you."

* * *

"Tony! Your British friend called me again! You have some news for me?" Happy yelled from the door, while throwing his keys on a table. He stepped towards the living room but no one was there. He mumbled to himself, wondering if Tony is drunk again. He figured that Tony would go back to drinking because of Meredith's death. He sighed for his friend. His life was only surrounded with deaths. Happy didn't know what to do but stay by side, being there whenever he calls for him. If he couldn't do anything, he might as well do his job well as a close friend. He chuckled. Good thing Pepper came into his life. She always knew what to do.

"Pepper? Pepper, you here?" he yelled.

"Happy? Is that you?" a voice chimed in. He scanned the room to see a pair of high heels coming down the stairs. He made his way towards the couch and sat as he waited for Pepper.

"Sorry, Happy, I was kind of busy. I didn't hear you till JARVIS told me."

"Oh it's fine, Pe-" Happy looked up to smile at Pepper but he stopped halfway when he saw a pair of blue eyes staring at him. Darcy, clad in a violet chiffon dress adorned with purple roses, put her head in between Pepper's neck and shoulders. Her arms wrapped Pepper's neck, unfamiliar with the stranger before her. Pepper just grinned at him, and sat down on a chair across him, propping Darcy on her lap. Darcy had her guard up, clinging herself closely to Pepper.

"Someone's scared," Pepper chuckled, stroking Darcy's little curls, "Isn't she precious?"

"She is…" Happy replied awkwardly, his eyes still on Darcy, "…and she is….?"

"Her name's Darcy. Darcy Lewis." Pepper answered, "Darcy, say hi to Uncle Happy." Darcy just buried her face in Pepper's arms.

Happy's mouth slowly shaped into an "o." He sat up straighter, and began to rub his hands on his thighs. "I'm sorry. I didn't know Meredith had a daughter…" he exhaled.

Pepper smiled apologetically to him, "It's fine, Happy. Don't worry about it. No one knew, except for me."

"You?"

"Yeah, Meredith signed me as Darcy's legal guardian… with the turn of events… I didn't expect to have her in my arms now." Pepper hugged Darcy tightly.

"She's in perfect hands," Happy reassured her, "Can I hold her?"

"Oh, of course." Pepper held Darcy under her shoulders and passed her carefully to Happy. He cautiously held her on his lap and chuckled lightly. He looked down to see the pair of azure eyes still staring at him, face stoic.

"She has her mother's eyes…" Happy breathed. Holding her securely, he pulled his right hand to touch her little curls. "You are a beautiful child, Darcy," he lulled gently. And with that compliment, Darcy finally smiled. Happy was speechless by the baby before him. The smile was so mesmerizing and adorable and it twinkled with a hint of overflowing confidence.

His brows furrowed and snapped his gaze to Pepper. "Pepper, is arrogance hereditary?"

She was surprised by the random question, but looking at Happy's expression, he was serious. "I don't know what you mean…"

"Sorry, stupid question." He shook his head, "Let me ask this. Why am I here exactly?"

Pepper's mouth pulled into a sheepish smile. "We need a little favor from you, Happy…."

"Oh god no, Pepper. I can't look after a baby!" Happy stood immediately, giving Darcy back to Pepper. He raised both of his palms up and inhaled a deep breath.

Pepper, frantic by his response, stood up too to calm him down. "No, no Happy. We're not asking you to take care of Darcy, well at least not for now but that's beside the point… well, we need new furniture for Darcy's new room and we wanted to keep it a secret so we figured that we get the furniture shipped to your house and then you drive it here…"

"Whoa, whoa hold up there. There's a lot of things wrong with what you just said. One, you plan me to become your babysitter in the near future? Two, is Darcy living here? Three, you want to keep what secretly? Four, how am I exactly to bring a huge crib to your house with my small-ass car?" Happy said breathlessly.

Pepper just held the now scared Darcy closely, slowly cradling her, unable to find a coherent, concise explanation.

"Someday, yes. Yes, she's living here. That Darcy is my daughter. And you can borrow the Escalade." a voice came in. Happy turned to the source to find Tony, all covered in oil, wiping his hands with a dirty towel. Tony climbed up with an impassive face. He walked towards Darcy to poke her cheek. Darcy giggled and reached her hands to Tony. "No, Darcy, Daddy is a little dirty right now," he said nonchalantly as he sat down on the couch.

"'Daddy?!'" Happy yelled, eyes widened in incredible disbelief.

"Yes, I'm her Daddy. Happy sit down." He said with utter coolness. Happy still in shock, obeyed and sat down.

"I'll go get a glass of water…" Pepper broke in, wanting to get out of the awkward situation.

"Yes, that'll be nice." Tony said, "JARVIS?"

_Yes, sir._

"Holy shit, who is that?!" Happy stood up again, yelling. Tony just groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in fatigue.

"Happy. Sit down, and don't swear. My child can hear you." Tony said sternly, "JARVIS is my AI."

"Ay-ai?" Happy said nervously.

"Stands for Artificial Intelligence. He's a computer, you know. But with a voice… and learning capabilities."

"A talking computer?!" he yelled again.

"Happy stop yelling. It's hurting my ears. I haven't had any sleep and yes, it's a talking computer. He'll do whatever I ask. Right, JARVIS?"

_Yes, sir. _

"That British voice… t-that means…" he stuttered.

"Yes, he was the one who called you last year and today…" Tony said monotonously, "Let's get back to business…"

_All transactions have been placed, sir. Only awaiting confirmation and they will be sent to Mr. Hogan's residence in three days._

"Confirmed."

Happy sunk back to the couch, unable to find words to say. He was entirely confused about what he should feel or say or react. He didn't have time to defend himself with the mind blowing news Pepper and Tony bombarded him.

"H-how did this all happened?" he stammered.

"Well, Harold, when a man and a woman loves each othe-

"Not that! I mean, Darcy! What are you going to do now?"

"She'll be living with me... Surreptitiously." Tony said calmly, "Having the last name Stark isn't actually a tabloid-headline repellant, you know."

"I see..."

"Look, Happy. I trust you with all my life. Probably because you've save it before. So please don't tell anyone about Darcy." Tony's voiced a gravely serious.

Happy just stared at him then grinned. He patted Tony's back and smirked, "Sure. But can you say 'please' again?"

"Don't push it, Harold." Tony smirked. They shared a moment of silence. Upon which they have also created a moment of understanding for their bond as two close friends strengthened with an amplified beam of trust and brotherhood. Pepper walked back from the kitchen with one arm carrying Darcy and one, holding a glass of water. She was thankful for having a friend like Happy. It felt great to have another person to trust. It showed them that they are not entirely alone in this. They have another person they could count on to make Darcy's welfare and happiness a certainty.

"Here, Happy." Pepper bent down to place the glass of water on the coffee table and sat next to Darcy. Happy immediately chugged the water down to drown any leftover worry and shock in his system. With a contented sigh, he gave Darcy a calculating gaze. "She's a beautiful child, Tony,"

"Of course. I am the father, aren't I?" Tony boasted with arrogant eyes, "These features are to die for…"

"You are the father, all right. I was complimenting her and then she gave me this smirk. That little smirk with a tinge of confidence that I know." Happy commented with a small grin, "But she looks more like Meredith."

"Yeah, Pepper said that too. I guess that will help since it's too dangerous to become a Stark…" Tony replied, endearing eyes on his daughter.

"Don't worry. I'll protect this little girl. Maybe someday I'll give her some boxing lessons," he smirked with anticipation. Pepper slapped his arm in return.

"You will not teach my little girl how to box!" Pepper warned.

Tony and Happy just laughed.

"No promises, Pepper," Happy joked. Pepper began to retort something but he stopped her, "Let me this room that you guys have been raving about."

_Certainly, Mr. Hogan. _

"I'll never get used to that," Happy sighed still baffled by technology Tony had created.

_Please turn your attention to the screen on the right._

Happy turned and Tony and Pepper looked at him to see his reaction.

"Well, I'll be damned…" Happy exhaled, "I definitely need another glass of water…"

* * *

**_Again, I do not really know how to describe rooms, so if some you did not get the picture, I posted links in my profile for 3 dimensional representations of Darcy's new room. I've only spent at least half an hour to design the room. I have no experiences as a home designer._**


	7. First Birthday

**First Birthday**

Five months have passed and things were going quite well in the Stark Household. Darcy's room have been renovated and furnished and she was pleased with the outcomes. After a week of moving furniture around, painting, and building new walls, Pepper placed Darcy on the carpet and she immediately started crawling all over the place. She crawled to the living space and rolled around on the soft carpet. Although she was free to frolic the spacious, baby-proofed area, it did not prevent four pairs of eyes from watching her. If he had the time, Tony would clean himself up of greasy motor oil to play on the carpet with Darcy too. Pepper would always watched like a hawk from the kitchen while she cleaned baby bottles and prepares food for Darcy. Happy would sometimes drop in to bring new necessities and to play with his new 'niece' with new toys that he bought. And JARVIS was always there with watchful cameras monitoring her behavior when Pepper and Tony had eyes on something else. Pepper was at first uncomfortable with the notion of a computer watching over a child, but she soon learned to the trust the AI when he immediately alerted her whenever something happened to Darcy. She grinned at the memory flashing back to her as she sipped her coffee in Tony's plane.

* * *

_August 23, 1993_

_Pepper was running errands for Tony while he discussed matters with the Board. She had to pick his dry-cleaning, take out the trash, clean Darcy's room and buy more food. Tony made it specifically clear to her that he does not want anyone going inside Darcy's room, even cleaning ladies. So she had to everything by herself: vacuum the carpet, wipe the windows, neat up her toys, sterilize the bottles, wash dishes, and get groceries. It was a whole lot of work added to the load she's already burdened with her job as Tony's secretary but she liked it. It made her feel like she meant something to the world. She liked the feeling of being of use to Darcy and Tony. And it proves her that she was capable of being a mother-figure to Darcy. She'd do anything for her little girl. She may not share the same blood as her and will never replace Meredith, but she loved Darcy like her own. She smothered Darcy with unconditional love and attention and Darcy is happy with that. And if Darcy is happy, she's happy._

_She was on her way home to Tony's mansion after picking his dry-cleaned suits when her block of a cell phone started buzzing loudly. Cautiously minding the traffic and her driving, she reached for her mobile and answered it. _

_"Pepper Potts, how may I help you?" she greeted, tucking the big phone between her ears and shoulders. _

Madame, I am to inform you that Ms. Lewis-

_"JARVIS? JARVIS, is that you? Why are you calling me? What happened to Darcy? Where's Happy? He was supposed to be there watching!" Pepper rambled on. She became frantic, worried of could've happen to her little girl. With that, she unconsciously stepped on the accelerator and began speeding up._

Everything is well, ma'am. Mr. Hogan is in the lavatory at the moment. I am only here to inform you that your presence is requested as soon as possible.

_"A-all right. I'm almost there." Pepper hung up. _

_Pepper made her way on the entrance of Tony's house as fast as she could. She felt a heart-wrenching pain in her chest as she ran up the stairs to Darcy's room. It felt cold and enervating as if her soul was being sucked in by a black hole of eternal despair. It was the same feeling when the nurse called her to go to the hospital. It was the same feeling when an NYPD officer told her that Meredith got in an accident. She truly abhorrently hated that feeling. _

_Punching the codes swiftly the doors swung open to reveal the one thing she will never ever forget._

_Her knees almost gave out, and her eyes almost popped out of her sockets. She did nothing but stare with blank eyes. Darcy was behind one of the couches, the one nearest to the door. Her gaze turned towards Pepper as she was curious of the source of the clamoring noise Pepper was making. Then she smiled when she saw Pepper. Her little porcelain hands were leaning on the back of the couch. The little hands began to inch up slowly and her knees began to bend. She moved herself up from her genuflecting position with another push. Pepper held her breath as Darcy leaned clumsily on the couch on her two feet. _

_"Darcy… oh my god. Come here," Pepper breathed out. Slowly reaching her arms for her, she maintained a blank gaze at the sight happening before her._

Ms. Potts, I suggest you step a little closer. Infants at this age would only endure a couple of steps.

_Pepper didn't say anything but just obeyed JARVIS. She didn't know why but there was always something in JARVIS' voice that makes her follow without any doubt. It's probably the accent._

_She was now only two feet away from Darcy, her arms still open. With another push, Darcy held an unsteady stance, no longer touching the back of the sofa. Pepper could feel tears gathering in her eyes but she fought it just in case Darcy gets scared._

_"Darcy, Pepper's right here. Come to Pepper." Pepper had the urge to say 'Come to Mom' but there was something deep in the pit of stomach that fought it. As much as it would make her the happiest woman in the universe if Darcy called her mom, the miniscule sensation of betrayal overwhelms that urge. No one can replace Meredith and no one will ever will. _

_Darcy slowly wobbling in her feet tried to balance herself. She smiled with glee, almost as if she was proud of the milestone achievement. And when she heard Pepper's voice, she slowly raised her right foot to make a step. The feeling was entirely new to her, foreign of what she usually does—crawling. Then she heard Pepper squeaked at the spectacle of her wondrous feat, and took another step with her left foot. She was only just a foot away from Pepper's arms so she took another unsteady step. The third step was actually beyond the capabilities of 9 month old, so it wasn't a surprise to Pepper when Darcy's knee gave out. Pepper dove right in to catch her. And then with that was the longest, most tender hug she ever gave to Darcy._

_"Pepper? What are you doing?" she heard a voice chime in. It was Happy coming out of the bathroom, face damped with sweat, "I'm sorry. I had to leave Darcy for a minute. I was feeding her and I tried tasting it and I didn't realize it had prunes. You know how I am with prunes. Pepper… what…. Are you crying?"_

_Pepper picked up Darcy, still hugging her tightly. She shabbily wiped the tears pouring out of her eyes and smiled to Happy._

_"She just walked to me. Darcy walked…"_

"Please don't laugh to yourself, Ms. Potts. It's embarrassing to the people around you." Tony said with a straight face as he drank his champagne.

"We're the only ones here, Mr. Stark. And besides, I was thinking of Darcy," Pepper sighed at her reminisce. Tony shot her a warning look.

"Oh, Tony. The flight attendants are talking with the pilot. No need to be paranoid." she rolled her eyes.

"You should be the one paranoid because you're about to go down." Tony smirked.

"Oh please, don't kid yourself. When Darcy sees my gift, she'll forget all about you." Pepper grinned. Darcy's first birthday was tomorrow and they both planned that they celebrate with a little party for her. Since they were the only two to celebrate with her, they decided to make things more fun and placed a little wager between themselves. Whose gift would Darcy like the most?

"I promise you, you'll be the one weeping." Tony stated.

"Did anyone tell you to not make promises you can't keep?" she jested.

"That's funny, Pepper. Real funny."

The victor of the wager will grant omniscient power over the loser until Christmas day. That means if Pepper wins, she can order Tony around without any complaints. If Tony wins, he can order Pepper to let him whatever he wants, without being reprimanded by his secretary. He may be the boss of Pepper, but having a secretary made him somehow obligated to do everything she scheduled. So getting to win an entire month without having to follow her nagging and stubborn mindset sounded pretty good to him.

"Putting our wager aside, do you have the cake?" Tony asked.

"One Japanese strawberry shortcake from Gateau's Resto is already in the plane's refrigerator."

"Great. Also tell Happ-

"That he stays with Darcy. A car will be waiting for you in the airport."

"Please fasten your seatbelts Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts. We are ready to land." a flight attendant chimed in.

* * *

"Darcy! Daddy's home!" Tony spread his arms up wide as he opened the door to Darcy's room. He saw Darcy, who was playing with a toy giraffe on the white carpet, peer up from her position and beamed at him. Then with a small cute grunt, she pushed herself up to stand and raise her arms like Tony was doing. It meant that she wanted him to carry her. He chuckled and hopped towards her and picked her up. Darcy wounded her arms around his neck and placed her head on his shoulders. Tony hugged her tightly and kissed her cheeks. "Did you miss Daddy, Darcy?"

"Oh she missed you, all right. She kept saying 'Da-Da' when I try to talk to her." a voice stated. Tony froze at the sound of the voice resonating behind him. He continued to stroke Darcy's hair and uttered only silence.

"What? No reaction? You're no fun, Tony…" the voice said. Tony still said nothing. He was thinking. Calculating. Nothing seemed to make sense. JARVIS was supposed to keep unauthorized people out of the premises of Darcy's room. The door always had a pass code even in the elevator from his workshop.

Unless someone let him in. Someone with enough clearance.

"Tony, where's Happy? I didn't see his car at th-

Pepper said while closing the door. Her eyes were on the white box in her hands. She didn't want Darcy's birthday cake to be ruined. But when she walked blindly towards the fridge, a pair of hands took the box away from her. A small gasp escaped her mouth.

"Yeah, where's Happy, Rhodes?" Tony asked, finally turning around. His eyes revealed his college friend, wearing a casual off-black dress shirt and a pair of dark navy denim jeans, sitting on one of the bar stools with a smug grin on his face. He shook a bottle of milk and shrugged his shoulders.

"We ran out of formula. Happy went to get some." The young major said. He smiled at Pepper and took the box away from her. "This is a cake, isn't it? I'll put it in the fridge for you, Ms. Potts." He smiled politely.

Pepper just nodded wordlessly and froze in her place. After he tucked in the box inside the chiller, he looked at Tony and Darcy, a smug smile still plastered on his face. "This is quite a painting. Father and Daughter. So heartwarming, Tony."

Tony sighed. "All right. Keep 'em coming."

"I just dropped by to give you a little bottle of Thanksgiving champagne but when Happy let me in, I see a baby! _Your_ baby!" he chuckled.

Tony rolled his eyes at him.

"Then I asked Happy and he told me EVERYTHING. You have a daughter!" His laugh growing louder and louder.

"Remind me to kill Happy when he gets back, Pepper." Tony sighed.

"Little Darcy! A Stark! A-ha!" Rhodes just kept on laughing.

"Sorry, Darcy. Rhodey becomes a little manic when he's in shock." He apologized to his girl with a tinge of mock.

"Tony Stark is a daddy! I never imagined that you would actually have a daughter! You don't have to die alone!"

"That's very heartwarming to know, James. I feel the love."

"Oh my god, are you going to be the mean overprotective daddy or the cool dad? Oh I can't imagine if Darcy brings home a boy one day. Would you use your own weapons?" he teased.

"All right, James…"

"TONY STARK HAS A DAUGHTER!" Rhodes yelled, his laugh enveloped with glee.

"Are you done now, Rhodey?" Tony sighed. And with that, Rhodes finally stopped laughing. He beamed widely at Pepper and started walking towards Darcy and Tony. Darcy hugged her father more tightly as he inched closer, frightened by this latest display of hilarity. Rhodes gently poked her hand so that she would look at him. Then, Darcy opened her hands as he gave her the bottle of milk. She stared at him with innocent curiosity as she drank. Rhodes finally bared his face of any traces of mirth and genuinely smiled at Tony.

Tony grinned back at him and Rhodey patted his back.

"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen."

* * *

_November 21, 1991 _

"Quick, Happy! Take out the camera!" Pepper ordered as they gathered around the end of the dining bar. On top of the mahogany table laid a white cake ornamented with crimson red strawberries. One golden candle alit poked the spongy cake. Gold letters that were glimmered by the candles' flame revealed, 'Happy 1st Birthday, Darcy!' Darcy who was wearing a satin red dress given by Happy looked over her cake with a big smile on her face, delighted by the attention she's getting. Tony and Pepper were behind her, shone with enigmatic smiles as Happy stood in front of them to capture a picture.

Tony loved birthdays. He loved celebrations, parties. It was a chance to forget about all the worries and fears and just embrace joy wholeheartedly. Discord and hate are washed away like melting icicles under the morning benevolent sun. No one is ever given the plight of undeserved unkindness or unmerited neglect. Only happiness and harmony prevailed during celebrations. It was a chance to be with family again.

But when his parents died, he never had the chance to relive that joy he yearned every year. Sure, people would hold parties for him, may it be for his birthday or Christmas, but they were always lacking in the sense that they felt obligated to hold a party for the CEO of Stark Industries. It was never out of love or personal camaraderie. It was nothing but bursting of champagne bottles and pretentious smiles. He missed the times when his mother would burn the turkey and the times where his dad scolds him for hiding the stuffing. He missed the warmth.

But of course, he will never admit that.

And he will never have to because he was given Darcy. He was blessed with a beautiful girl full of life and deserved happiness. Celebrations do not feel as simulated as they used to be. Cheerfulness and good feelings now reigned because of his baby girl.

"Okay, another one! Let's have a picture with Uncle Happy and Uncle Rhodey" Pepper clapped her hands, "Happy, give me the camera."

"No need." Tony interrupted. With one swift whistle, they began to hear a humming noise nearing in the kitchen. They faced to see DUMMY, one of Tony's earliest inventions, strolling in. It stopped in front of Pepper, closing and opening its claw, "Give the camera to the DUM-E. He'll take the picture."

With one beep in response, DUMMY took the camera from Pepper's hands just so perfectly. Pepper quickly ran back behind Darcy, pulling Happy and Rhodes in.

"You better take a good picture or I'll dismantle you." Tony warned the robot. With a frightened beep, it raised its claws to take a picture. Just as it was about to pressed the shutter button with a free claw, Darcy mimicked the robot and raised her hand up as well. Then with one big swoop, Darcy's hand dropped on the cake in front her causing the people behind her to distort in their own natural state of surprise. DUMMY took that as a cue and pressed the button, giving one of the most memorable birthday pictures ever.

After eating the cake and cleaning up Darcy, Pepper announced that it was time for gifts. As they gathered around Darcy, who was playing on the carpet, each took out a box to present. Pepper surprisingly held the smallest box. Tony narrowed his eyes with suspicion. Happy took out a medium-sized box, smaller than Rhodes and of course, Tony carried the biggest one. He offered a superior smile to everyone and the three just replied with a sigh.

"I hope whatever is in that box, Tony, won't set the house on fire." Pepper groaned.

"C'mon, Pep. Worried that I'll win?" Tony taunted.

"Win what?" Rhodes asked with suspicion.

"Whose gift will Darcy like the most… if I win, I don't have to listen to Pepper's nagging for a month." Tony smirked.

"I do not _nag_." Pepper retorted.

"What mature parents you are…" Happy sighed, "I guess I'll go first."

Happy put his gift in front of Darcy. The size was not grand like Tony's four foot present. It looked like a large shoebox compared to Darcy's size. The gift was wrapped in a rosy pink tissue paper with a big red bow on top. Darcy watched the box with curious eyes as Happy placed the box in front of her. He grinned with excitement and unfurled the bow. Pepper groaned again.

"Really, Happy? Really?" Pepper scolded, "Of all the thousands things you could give to a one-year old, you choose to give her a pair of _boxing gloves?_"

The old boxer only provided her a sheepish grin, and took out the crimson gloves from the box. He ecstatically handed Darcy the gloves, and inserted her little hands inside them. Darcy just looked blankly at the unknown thing that was covering her hands. She tried to raise them but the gloves were too heavy. She attempted again with a small grunt but failed. Defeated, she looked up to stare at Happy's eyes and pouted.

Everybody let out a gentle entreaty, "Aw." Pepper quickly whipped out the camera and grabbed a snapshot and Happy smiled from ear-to-ear.

"I know it's not the time to give her boxing gloves. I already got her a dress but it didn't feel like it came from me, you know? I wanted her to have something I treasured so she knows that I'll treasure her too." Happy crooned as he patted Darcy's head. Pepper then noticed that Darcy's name was embedded on the ends of the gloves in gold letters. Tony reached over to pat Happy's back and smiled, "Thanks, buddy."

"Okay, my turn." Rhodes jumped in and put his offering besides Happy's, "You should all know that I tried my best. I did just meet her yesterday." He said as he tore off the polka dotted wrapping. Darcy's attention was caught by bright myriad of colors that the box emanated. Pepper nodded her head.

"Not bad, Rhodey. At least it's normal." She said. Darcy quickly slid her hands off the gloves to turn her body towards the box. Rhodes smiled and helped her open it, taking out the contents. Wooden blocks poured out of the box and rolled towards the baby, revealing colorful letters stamped on the block. Darcy picked one up and examined it. Then with her small dark brown eyebrows furrowed, she put the block over another one. Everybody clapped.

"Good job, Rhodey. Alphabet blocks will encourage linguistic rudiments and bring out my Darcy's engineering capabilities." Tony nodded coolly.

"Already training your daughter to become a Stark?" Rhodes joked.

"That is true, my friend. Darcy is a genius. The thirst for knowledge is in her blood. There's no reason to waste that potential." He said proudly.

"How can you be so sure?" Pepper challenged.

"I'm a genius. My dad was a genius. So was Grandpa Stark. I can go on but to sum it up, genius runs in the family." Tony shrugged casually, "I created my first robot when I was nine. Maybe Darcy will create her first one even sooner that. All we need to do is push the right buttons… which brings me to my gift to Darcy."

Everybody's attention turned towards him as he set down the huge box in front of Darcy. It glimmered with its cerulean wrapping and gold bow. Pepper silently prayed to the heavens that a robot won't pop out of the box. After a dramatic pause, Tony pulled the bow, releasing the four cardboard walls to come down. Happy hit himself on the face with his palm. Rhodes just shook his head and Pepper groaned loudly. But she was inwardly relieved that it wasn't a moving contraption that Tony created.

"Tony, most fathers would give their daughters a kitchen set or something. Not a _tool set._" Happy grumbled, sliding his hand down from his face to look at the set. The gift was ostentatiously colorful. A small carpentry bench was tinted deep red. Plastic yellow tools hung on the bench: drills, hammers, wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers. Little imitation nails, gears, bolts and nuts were scattered on the bench, decorated with a myriad of colors.

Darcy immediately dropped the blocks she was holding, and pushed herself up to see the bench eye-level. She wobbled lightly but supported herself by leaning herself on the bench. Fascinated by the many colors, she smiled as she picked up the toy wrench.

"That's very sexist of you, Happy. What would Pepper say?" Tony mockingly pouted.

"Hey, I'm just glad that I wasn't a robot." Pepper commented, but something snapped in her when she noticed Tony smirk secretly, "Tony, there is _no _robot, right?"

She heard a deep chuckle escape his throat, "Well, I can assure you that the tool set is not a robot. But Daddy's gift has two parts."

"That's cheating." Pepper glared but he ignored her. Tony then gracefully kneeled in front of the tool set and stuck his hand in under the bench. He pulled out his hand to reveal a small thin box, as big as a pizza box. With one big grin, he revealed the content of the box to everyone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Stark Industries, I present you the next big thing: Darcy's Electronic Learning Laptop. "

Tony has outdone himself again. With a big smirk, he set the laptop on top of the bench, and lifted the screen up for Darcy. He took Darcy's hand and made her press the power button herself. A small orchestral chord played at the boot screen, flashing the blue words, "Welcome, Darcy" against a black background. The start screen fades away to expose a panoramic image of the Pacific Ocean, similar to the view from her room. Then Tony takes hand again so she can tap a button next to the spacebar. The button had an icon of a globe, deriving from the Stark Industries' logo. Once clicked, a familiar British voice spoke from the laptop's speakers.

_Good evening, Ms. Lewis. It is now 8:37 P.M. November 21, 1991. To commemorate your first birthday tonight, shall we commence on starting phonetic exercises?_

"You programmed JARVIS into the laptop?" Pepper asked, still impressed by the gift.

"To teach Darcy. Every time she opens that laptop, JARVIS has been prepared to teach her Basic English, Arithmetic, Science, preferably the primary laws of Physics, and History." Tony said smugly. "I installed a microphone and a camera too, so if Darcy was to answer back, JARVIS can hear and response."

Darcy looked at the screen with innocent scrutiny. Her eyes darted left and right as JARVIS flashed letters and pictures on the screen. The screen flashed the letter A first, showing a rendering of an apple. Enthralled by the moving pictures, she giggles and applauded.

Tony smiled proudly and leaned in close to kiss his daughter's forehead. Consequently, he made a victory walk back to the couch next to Pepper, gazing at her with arrogant eyes. He placed his arms behind his head and leaned back to the leather couch. "I think I won, sweetheart."

The red haired woman replied by rolling her grey eyes at him. She made not have the incomparable, outstanding intelligence that Tony possesses, but she did have a trump card. And her trump card always wins.

"You know what they always say, Mr. Stark… you always save the best for last," Pepper winked at him. The box on her lap took the shape of a cube, big enough to be held by the palm of her hands. She stayed away from using any gaudy wrapping, and only worked with a simple brown paper wrap adorned with a white organza ribbon. She placed the box aside, and called Darcy, "Sweetie, come to Pepper," she crooned as she patted her lap.

As soon as she heard Pepper's voice, Darcy broke her attention away from the glowing laptop and turned her gaze to Pepper. As she patted her lap, Darcy dropped down on all fours to crawl towards her. Pepper groaned in mirth as she picked up Darcy under her shoulders and situated her baby on her lap. Setting her chin gently on Darcy's head, she took a quiet sniff of her curls. She smelled like lavender and peppermint, which Pepper tenderly loved. Darcy sits back, pushing her back close to Pepper's chest and leaned her head on her shoulder. Pepper kissed her head and said endearingly, "Happy birthday, love…"

She slowly untied the white ribbon in front of Darcy, pulling the brown sides gently to unfurl from the center. The little girl on her lap tilted her head curious of the thing before her. After seeing the content of the box, Tony just scoffed while Happy and Rhodes grinned. "Of course, she would use the sentimental move… Clever."

It was a piano. A miniature piano. It glimmered with elegance as the intricate gold and silver filigree decorated the surface like lace. Majestic swirls and graceful floral patterns enveloped the little instrument as if it was a glorified antique dating back from the Napoleon's Era. The gold metalwork was utterly baroque but the realistic ivory feeling of the ivory gave a sense of romanticism. In front of the piano was a small depiction of robot girl, sitting on a gold bench, her hands placed on the ivory keys. The figure was coated with silver, gleaming with the golden accents of the piano. Moments after, Pepper took Darcy's little hand and maneuvered it to lift the metal lid up. Instead of continuing the metallic gold motif of the exterior, it was replaced by burgundy red lace patterns. In the center was a music box that Pepper specifically had modified to play a special tune. Then without wasting any time, she put her hand under the piano to turn the knob.

The melody was wholly mellifluous to the ears. The robotic figure became animated, its hands moving up and down the keyboard as if it was playing the song. The movements weren't fluid, purposely choppy to mimic a robot girl's behavior. She played serene arpeggios paced with silken grandeur, fast but gentle. Every note had a resounding significance, linking harmonies with undemanding felicity. It made everyone in the room feel the soft poundings of nostalgia. Happy smiled inwardly, suddenly reminiscing his prime as a boxer. Rhodes grinned at the memory of his past experiences as a private, honored to finally being able to serve his country. Tony unexpectedly remembered his mother's smile, and his father's smirk.

Pepper chuckled silently under her breath as the song continued to play. Every time she hears the melody, she would remembered the times where she was like the robotic girl playing the piano. Her actions were always so monotone, tainted black and white. She moved efficiently, her job was to be taken with the utmost seriousness. She did not smile nor frown, only followed orders and did what she was obligated to do. She used to be a robot.

Then Meredith came like the morning sun against the rainy day. Meredith made her learn that she should take life in another, more entertaining perspective. She learned that she should smile and laugh once in a while. Joke and tease. Laugh and cry. She learned that nothing is wrong with a little splash of color in her black-and-white world. Emotions will do nothing but make her better at what she does. Like the capricious crescendos and arpeggios of the melody, taking in a bit of fun into her life wouldn't ruin anything… it'll just make it better. Maybe that's why Meredith introduced her to Tony Stark, and gave her Darcy. She needed it.

The melody slowly came to an end, and Darcy looked up to see Pepper's face.

"The song is called 'Memory of Mother' Darcy…" she said as she slowly closed the music box and set it aside on the coffee table, "So that whenever you hear this, you'll never forget your Mommy."

Pepper gently stroked Darcy's ivory cheeks as the little girl continued to stare at her with her deep blue eyes. "Mom-my?" a little voice squeaked out of the little girl. Everybody was in utter surprise when Darcy spoke, but no one said anything. They simply watched at the magical thing.

Pepper tried to hold back tears from coming out. They weren't sad tears. They were tears of complete and endless joy. "Yes, darling. Mommy." Darcy continued to stare at her with her innocent azure eyes. Pepper continued to caress her soft cheeks.

Then suddenly, the world stopped when Darcy slowly wound her arms around Pepper's neck. She softly nuzzled herself in the nape of her neck. Pepper hugged her tightly, and cupped her small head. Darcy must be sleepy.

"Okay, gentlemen. I think that ends our celebration tonight. Thank you for gracing us with your presence, I hope you had a wonderful time, yaddah-yaddah-yaddah, goodnight. Leave." Tony stood up and clapped his hands. Happy and Rhode understood and stood up to leave. Tony escorted them out and bid their goodbyes as Pepper gently walked towards Darcy's bedroom.

"Hey, Pep. I hope you don't mind, but Happy kind of took half of the cake home." Tony slowly whispered as he went inside the dark room. Darcy was already sleeping soundly in her crib, already changed into her white sleeping attire. Pepper was sitting beside the crib on the ivory chaise, her face turned towards the windows, viewing the night sky. The music box carefully situated on the end table beside her. She was poised quite sophisticatedly on the chaise. She rested her head on her arms, as she laid her body languidly on the cushion. . He walked closer and gently to see Pepper's face glowed with a bluish tint as she watched the waves crash in the ocean. Her grey eyes were almost white as the night's waxing moon reigned the night sky.

"She called me 'Mama' Tony. She called me 'Mama'." Pepper sighed, not turning her gaze away from the window, "Right after I put her into the crib… she called me 'Mama'…"

"You don't sound so happy about that…" Tony remarked, stepping in front of the windows casually inserting his hands on his pockets, "Shouldn't you be happy about that?"

"I know I should… but…" Pepper clutched her eyes tight. She doesn't want to be the cry again. She always cries. Why does she always cry? What happened to that robot girl?

"But you don't feel like you don't deserve it…" he finished.

"Meredith is her real mom. And I'm afraid that, that Darcy will forget about her, you know? And-and I don't know if I can be there for her as a mother. I can't replace Meredith. I never will-

"Please, Pepper. Don't make me give you a pep talk. I don't do pep talks…" Tony groaned, "But if I were to give you some reasoning and cheer… I'd hypothetically tell you that you are one of the most reliable and capable people I have ever met. You have already sacrificed _enough_ for Darcy, for Meredith, for _me._ I don't know if I can ever meet person who has enough balls to do that. I would supposedly tell you that you should be very happy when Darcy calls you 'Mom' because that's when you know that you are doing a very well job." Tony made his way towards Darcy's crib and kissed her on the forehead. "I would also tell you to never ever stop on loving Darcy as your own daughter. Keep up the good job, Pepper, I would say, you know… hypothetically. But I don't do pep talks."

Pepper faced him and offered him a small smile, "Thanks, Tony."

"Thanks for what? I didn't say anything."

"Right." Pepper chuckled. Tony put his hands again inside his pockets and said coolly, "And I'm taking the victory from our little wager."

"It's a tie." Pepper confirmed.

"I can live with that. I guess I'll be nicer to you and you'll nag less. That's good plan." He shrugged.

"Yes, that would be nice."

"Oh yeah, this is an order then. Don't go home tonight, stay with Darcy. The guest bedroom is always open." Tony commanded. Then he slowly walked towards the exit.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Pepper sighed.

"Yes, that will be all, Ms. Potts." Tony said then exited.

After a moment of silence and self-reflection, Pepper turned to look at Darcy's sleeping figure. The baby cuddled softly with a white teddy bear that Tony gave her a while ago, lightly snoring in her place. Pepper smiled gently at the view. Darcy looked like an angel, so innocent and sweet. She loved her soft cheeks, the small rosy blush she would always show. She treasured her little brunette curls, her small distinct eyebrows. Her little ivory fingers and her small pale arms, she cherished them. Darcy was her everything.

And she promised herself that she would do anything in the world for Darcy to call her, "Mama" again.

* * *

"Ma! Maaaa! Mama! Wakey-wakey!" A voice woke her up. It was completely energetic and lively. Her eyes snapped open only to be blinded by the morning sun. She rubbed her eyes and groggily pulled herself to sit up. A throbbing pain flashed from her sore neck.

"Did I fall asleep on the chaise again?" Pepper asked, yawning.

"Yup!" the voice said only getting more animated by the second, "Mama! Quick! Dad said we're going to the beach today! Ma!"

"All right. All right. I'm up. I'm up. Go get your breakfast. You need to have your morning lessons with JARVIS first then we'll go, okay?"

"Okay! JARVIS said we're going to study about marine life today! I'm so excited!" the little girl in front of her jumps with overwhelming glee. Bright twinkling azure eyes smiled at her. Her long chocolate curls bounced up and down as she dashed out of the room to the kitchen.

Pepper laughed at the disappearing figure. She properly stood up from her chaise and stretched her arms up high and bended her back. She smoothed down her wrinkled suit, and tied her hair neatly back into her usual ponytail. A grin crept her face as she noticed that the music box beside her had just stopped playing. A voice greeted in as she stepped back into her stilettos.

"Had a good dream, Ms. Potts?" the voiced said. She turned around to see Tony just wearing a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans, sipping a mug of black coffee. He raised his eyebrows at her, prompting an answer.

"Just an old memory, Mr. Stark… Seven years is a long time." Pepper smiled.

Tony smirked back, perfectly recalling the memory she was talking about, "Yeah, it's been a while…"


	8. School

**School**

The July sun beamed brightly over them, the cerulean sky, cloudless and clear. She watched Darcy play in the sandy shores of the Stark's private beach just under their mansion, behind her russet tinted sunglasses. She laced her fingers together over her knees, bending her back so that her chin touches her hands. She wiggled her toes, burying her feet in the golden sand. She felt the cool ocean breeze blow gently on her neck, refreshing and soothing. She stayed under the safety of a large umbrella while Darcy jumped around on the shore under the sun. Darcy seemed so ecstatic, getting animated as the waves crash on to her little toes. Pepper could hear her reverberating giggles over the roars of the sea. Darcy turned around, flinging her brunette waves over her shoulder to look at Pepper and Tony. Pepper could see her brilliant shining blue eyes from a distance, twinkling in happiness. Her small pink lips pulled into a big smile while she waved to Pepper and Tony, then continued to play with the water. Pepper smiled back.

Darcy looked like she belonged. Pepper thought she belonged out there, under the sun, always playing with big laughs and grins. She was born to be out there in the world, meeting new people, learn, and make friends. But instead she is chained inside her own room, with no real people to talk to but a computerized entity. Sometime she would be given the freedom to go play at the beach, but what is so fun playing _alone_ in a secluded private beach? Tony and Pepper are adults, burdened with big responsibilities and obligations. But that doesn't mean that they should bring Darcy in that world. She was only seven-years old. Pepper sighed loudly.

"Is home school necessary, Tony?" She whispered. Tony pulled a book he was leisurely reading away from his face and stared at her, taken back by the sudden question. He saw Pepper look on the far stretches of the sapphire blue sea, her grey eyes deep with pensive thoughts. He only sighed in response.

"I mean, Darcy should be out there playing with friends, not alone because her two parents can't go out in the sun without being questioned by the media."

"Questionable people with questionable tans?" Tony said with slight mockery, but only to be glared at by Pepper. It was the glare that Pepper usually gives to Tony when she wants to make a point.

"Tony." She said sternly, and then quickly sighed, "Darcy is going to be 7 this November. Shouldn't she be in second grade? You know, like in a public school?"

"Public schools are filthy." He grumbled.

"Private school?" Pepper added, "There's a good one just 5 miles away from here."

"Then you see in the news about a school bus dropping a little girl in front of Tony Stark's house. How covert, Pepper."

"Boarding school?" she proposed.

"My father sent me to a boarding school." He hissed, "So he doesn't have to worry about me."

"But Tony, we're not sending her to school because we don't have to look after her. I want her to see the world, make new friends, and learn something!" Pepper groaned inwardly.

"Darcy's a smart girl. She's learning enough. I received reports from JARVIS that she has obtained quite the propensity to examine things in a different perspective. She displays superb analytical prowess, creativity, flexibility… tell me, Pepper. What is one-half of 13?"

She raised her eyebrows at him, puzzled by the random question. Tony sighed, "Just answer."

"6.5… why? Are you changing the subject?" Pepper glowered, voice strained.

"No I am not. You answered 6.5, the most common answer."

"Is there any other answer? I'm pretty sure that 6.5 is right." Pepper scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"_Au contraire_… you see humans evolved to think reproductively, emphasis on the prefix 're-'" he uttered, slowly sitting up and to face Pepper eye-level, "people live and learn from experiences. When they are confronted with an adversary, a conflict, a problem, people have the natural tendency to look back into the past to look for a solution. On the basis of similar problems encountered in the past, people ask themselves, 'What have I been taught in life, school or something on how to solve this problem?' You have been thought in school that one-half of 13 is 6 and one half so it's natural for you to answer with that. You took the most promising approach based on what you've learned in the past, excluding all the other solutions. People work within in a clearly defined direction towards the solution of the problem. They look for the straightest, safest path. As a result, people become _arrogantly _certain of the correctness of their answer.1" Tony smirked at her reaction when he emphasized the word, arrogantly. She blushed, reflecting on what she said before.

"In contrast, my dear Ms. Potts, geniuses think _productively_, not reproductively. When asked a problem, a genius would think 'How many different ways can I look at this question?', 'How can I rethink the way I think when I see this problem?' A genius would look for all permutation, combination of different ways to solve the problem. A normal person would think inside the box, while a genius would think outside the box, sideways, left, right, up, down, diagonal… You look at something with a microscope, while a genius would use a kaleidoscope. They tend to come up with different responses, pure unconventional and intrinsically unique. So when JARVIS asked Darcy what one-half of 13 is, she did not just answer 6.5. She listed: 13 = 1 and 3; THIR TEEN =4; XIII = 11 and 2; XIII = 8 which completely make sense when you look at it differently. She completely grasps all the materials she had been given under JARVIS' tutelage. Remarkable enthusiasm for knowledge leads me to my conclusion that Darcy Lewis-Stark-Potts, my daughter, doesn't need school. She'll learn better at home," he affirmed with a preemptory tone, wanting the conversation to be over with.

"So you're saying Darcy is better off learning with a computer with no sort of living embodiment, with no friends, stuck in a room that's shut off from the world?" Pepper argued.

"Just like you said, Darcy will just turn 7 this year. Why are you rushing her so much? And JARVIS is more than capable of teaching her."

"Why are you being so overprotective of her?" Pepper snapped, not realizing she was already shouting, "Stop being a prick!"

Something cracked inside Tony. Anger pulsed through his veins, adrenaline pumped to his brain. He has been trying so hard. He has been trying so hard to be the perfect dad. Why can't anyone see that?

"What do you want me to do? Do you want me to not care about her? Do you want me to send her some place all alone without her parents? Do you want me to just her checks every week so she can look after herself? Do you want me to do that? Abandon her?" Tony growled at her. He began to grasp that he was already standing in front of Pepper, pacing back and forth in anger. The woman below him pursed her lips together tightly, trying to keep tears from coming out. She held her position with staring at him with piercing eyes, her eyebrows furrowed. Pepper was also furious.

"I am not telling you to _abandon_ Darcy. I want you to give her some freedom." She said sternly, "Don't bring your Daddy-issues here."

Tony gasped, ghastly shocked by her last retort. Did Pepper just tell him that he has _daddy-issues_?

"Daddy-issues? Just who do you think you're talking to, _Potts_?" Tony snarled, rubbing his face with hands in frustration. He turned around and groaned, "This conversation is done."

"Oh I'm not done, Tony." Pepper stood up, stomping towards him. But she immediately stops when Tony turned back around swiftly, pulling his face close to her. His eyes pierced through his sunglasses as he warned, "I am your boss, Ms. Potts. You will follow my orders. This. Conversation. Is. Done."

"I am not talking to you as your secretary, _Stark._ I am talking to you as Darcy's legal guardian." Pepper asserted, prodding her finger onto Tony's chest with painful jabs.

Annoyed, frustrated and mad, he reflexively grabbed Pepper's hands and clenched it tightly. He didn't realize that he was squeezing really hard until he noticed Pepper wince in pain. He momentarily hated himself for doing that. He understood that Pepper was just trying to be a caring mother-figure to Darcy. He also understood that he may have been quite overprotective of her for these past years. He didn't like hurting Pepper and his daughter. But he love Darcy so much, he didn't want to Darcy to experience the things he felt when he was young. Seven years with her has been the happiest years of his life and he wanted to continue that bliss as a father. He wanted her to learn with him, eat dinner with him, cook with him, and watch movies. But listening to Pepper, bawling over how he doesn't want her go to school, he slowly understood. His own love is chaining her down, caging her from wonderful opportunities given by the world. He wouldn't be any different form his father if he let that happen.

Gradually and lightly loosening his grip of Pepper's hand, he looked down on the sand, sighing in defeat. Pepper's piercing eyes began to soften into a gentle gaze. She noticed the self-conflict he was battling in his mind. Breaking the silence, Tony finally spoke.

"She's not going to a public school." He breathed out.

Pepper grinned.

"Of course. Boarding school?" she contributed.

"Fine. But I get to choose." He spat.

"Cool. I'm going to a boarding school! What's a boarding school?" a voice chimed in. Both Tony and Pepper held their breaths automatically at the sound of the voice. They didn't realize that they were that loud, that it actually attracted an audience. With a simultaneous inward sigh, they slowly turn their heads to look at the voice that squeaked into their conversation.

Darcy's curls swayed with the wind as she looked up to the couple with a big grin plastered on her face. Ultramarine eyes glimmered with sun, her porcelain hands carried a plastic red pail filled with seashells. The two adults just looked at her all perplexed, speechless.

"I was collecting seashells so I can study them with JARVIS, then I heard Dad yell so I came over." She simply explained, rocking the bucket back and forth.

"H-how long have you been listening, darling?" Pepper exhaled. She felt slightly uncomfortable of the fact that a little child have witness them yelling at each other. And to have her hear them arguing over her, how would that have made her feel?

Darcy didn't show any signs of fear of the act that she just had observed. She simply smirked, "Daddy has Daddy-issues? What's that?"

Pepper laughed in response, raising her eyebrows at Tony. The guy, however, had a hard time grasping that Darcy heard them.

"And it looks like Ma has more power than you Dad," she grinned, earning an arrogant chuckle from Pepper and a baffled expression from Tony. Pepper slightly touched Tony's cheek to bring him back to reality and went to scoop Darcy arm in her arms. Darcy hugged her neck and leaned her head onto Pepper's.

"Daddy is powerless against smart and good girls, Darcy." Pepper crooned while kissing her temple.

"I'm smart! Right, Daddy?" Darcy asked, giggling. Tony just stuttered. "Y-yeah, honey. Yes you are."

"Now you just have to be good, sweetie. Can you do that?" Pepper asked and Darcy nodded happily, "Now let's go back to the house, you need to take a shower."

"You know, Darcy, humans evolved to think reproductively, emphasis on the prefix 're-'" Pepper drawled on as she patted Tony's shoulders as a we'll-talk-about-this-later sign and began walking away from the beach with Darcy. Tony just stayed in his place, staring blankly at the sea.

He couldn't believe he just agreed to send Darcy away to a boarding school.

* * *

"New York." He declared. The two were lounging in the kitchen, enjoying afternoon snacks and drinks. Pepper insisted that they stay together before Tony goes back to his workshop to grab some time to talk about Darcy's school situation. She calmly brewed herself a warm cup of tea, while Darcy munched a chocolate soufflé with warm cocoa milk and Tony waited for the coffee machine to finish making his coffee. They decided that they talk about this with their daughter, even if she was only seven years old. "Did anyone see the toaster? I wanted toast. You know what never mind…" Tony slipped back to his seat next to Darcy and crossed his legs, "Yup. It has to be New York."

Darcy looked at him with a huge grin. She has never been to New York. She has never been_ anywhere_. Pepper almost choked on the Ashwagandha tea she was sipping. Grey eyes went ajar and stared at him with utter perplexity. "New York? That's so far away!"

"You wanted boarding school and we agreed that I get to choose the location. I choose New York. Specifically, Manhattan." He said coolly. Pepper's eyes grew wider.

"Manhattan? That is so not safe! Again, we are so far away from her. We wouldn't be there for her when she needs us without having a 6-hour delay. It'll be hard to contact her. Where would she live? Who will be there to watch her? How are we going to see her? Of all the cities, you pick _New York City?_"

"Relax, woman." he ordered, sipping his freshly brewed espresso. "Be happy I didn't pick the Massachusetts Institute of Technology…"

Now he was going too far. "You were considering sending her to MIT? Tony Stark, she's only 7!"

"Cool I'm going to college!" Darcy rang out, amused by her father's blunt nonchalance and her mother's comical expression. Tony smirked back at her and shook his head playfully, "Sorry, bud. Pepper doesn't want you to go to college, just yet."

"I read that you went there when you were only 15! That's awesome!" she chirped.

"Yup. Double majored in physics and engineering. What would you major in, my little genius?" Tony raised his eyebrows at her. Pepper reached to smack his wrist, "You are not talking about college with your seven-year old daughter!"

"I don't know yet. Do you think I should do engineering too, Daddy?" Darcy asked, earning a chuckle from her father, "Speaking about engineering, can we go back to the beach tomorrow? I learned about marine mammals and the ecosystem today with JARVIS and, and, I saw dolphins today! I was going to ask if we can get close to them and try out my new prototype! I made a robotic fishie! I'm going to name her Pearl because I'm going to use the sea glass I found today for her exterior. She's going to bright and shiny. I still have to figure how to keep the water from going inside though and how to make the fins move more like a fish. Maybe I should read more in Grandpa's library, see what I can find. I'll also need more double A batteries, lots of them! Maybe more than fifty of them! I'm also going to borrow the antenna from Uncle Happy's car for my remote control, and an infrared sensor, so I should borrow the TV remote. A ca-

"Whoa, whoa, Darcy darling, you're rambling again," Pepper touched her daughter's hand to stop her, "Breathe."

The little girl didn't realize that she was spouting incoherent sentences again and took a deep breath.

"See, Pep? She already has another prototype. The first one, the teddy bear, didn't end too well, combusting spontaneously and all that, but she's making progress." Tony stated.

"Poor Ted." Darcy sighed.

"And where did you get the spare parts, my little one?" he sneered, already knowing the answer. It has been a fascination to him that Darcy inherited his ingenuity… and the thirst for mischief. Darcy leered back, "I took apart the blow-dryer and the toaster."

Pepper only offered them a wide agape when the two of them high-fived each other. One Tony Stark was enough to handle and now a little one was in the making. She shook her in misery, gulping down the last drops of her tea. The tea was supposed to calm her and it wasn't doing a very good job. "Honestly, is everything a joke to you two?"

"Laughter is known to reduce blood pressure, Ma." Darcy said impishly.

"Yeah, Killjoy, lighten up." Tony added, "Darcy knows how to have fun."

Tony sighed, knowing that their little segment of fun has been ended by the woman. "Pepper-raptor. She's coming to get you." He gritted under his breath to Darcy. The little girl giggled out loud, earning a glare from her mother. "Darcy Lewis-Stark! Behave!"

"Yes, Mama…" she murmured, sipping her cocoa to hide her grin.

"Tony, we were talking about Darcy's future here. New York, remember that? Yeah, let's continue that conversation." Pepper snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Fine, fine, fine. Yes, yes, yes…" he droned, "Darcy will be enrolled in the fine establishment of The British International School of New York. And to answer your questions, no, you do not have to be a Brit to go there."

"I've heard that many sons and daughters of international ambassadors go there. I think that the French ambassador's daughter just enrolled last year. She's probably the same age as Darcy." Pepper thought out loud.

"Such important people cannot be left unprotected, so the school actually has a doable security system. Cameras, motion detectors, pass codes and card access, high encrypted firewalls, anything you name it, and it'll be there. The students are perfectly safe from anyone, well, you know except from me. JARVIS can hack into the firewall if I want to." He explained, "JARVIS you do the talking."

_Very well, sir. The British International School of New York is situated at the 23__rd__ Street of Manhattan, overlooking the East River. It is well known for its spacious classrooms and state-of-the-art technology, resources, and a diverse community consisting of more than 15 nationalities. The curriculum combines the International Baccalaureate and the English National Curriculum which has produced stimulating results. The programme includes challenging courses such as Physics, Chemistry Computer Science, Engineering, Anthropology, Public Policy, Economics, Political theory, Music Theory, Theater and Visual Arts, European History, Art History and many more, available to all ages. Moreover, the School has an outstanding language program that teaches Spanish, Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Swahili and of course, the Queen's English. _

"That is awesome." Darcy cheered.

_The establishment also provides dormitories for students who live far from the city. I can assure you that dormitories are fully equipped of 24-hour surveillance and pressure and heat sensitive detectors to prevent any intruders._

"That… sounds perfect." Pepper lulled. She laced her fingers together as she dropped her elbows on to the table. She grabbed a few minutes of silence, thinking if she was doing the right thing. New York is a very far place from Malibu. She won't be there right away for her daughter if she trips and cries. Darcy wouldn't be there for to wake her up in the morning whenever she falls asleep on the couch. Darcy wouldn't be there to smile and cheer her up after a long day of work. Tony will lock himself in his workshop now that he'll have no reason to go up to her room if there's nobody to play with.

Tony.

What would happen to him if Darcy wasn't home? Would he resort back to his old habits? Drink? One-night stands? Partying day and night? Work endlessly?

Besides herself, Darcy was the only who had abstained him from completely subjugating to all the evils of mediocrity he had suffered by himself when he was young. He drank less often. If he wanted to party, he'll try not to have it in Malibu, probably fly to Dubai or something. He kept his hangovers to himself and avoided random women from coming in and out of his mansion. He began to rely on Pepper more, telling and warning her every single thing he was about to do, so that she would be there right on time to stop him or catch him fall. His rehabilitation may be slow, but progress is never ignored. She's afraid that the decision of sending Tony's true remedy to his hedonistic illness might away break the combo.

She glanced at his face to see any air of hesitation exhale out of his lungs, only to find a face blank with frank casualness. Her gaze turned soft and gentle as she breathed out, "Tony, are you really okay with this?"

Tony turned to stare at her, still with indifferent eyes."You wanted this. You got it. Why are you being uncertain now?"

"No, _I'm _certain. I'm asking if you are." She countered.

"Just peachy."

"I just need one real answer from you, Tony. Is that too much to ask?" she grimaced.

"There is no one real answer to a question. It's how you approach the problem. Do I need to give you my genius speech again?"

"Tony…"

"Chill, woman. If it pleases you, I will say that I am not entirely fixed with the idea. But you're right, it's necessary for Darcy to "explore" the mundane world we live in. Right, Darcy? Do you want to go study in New York?" he turned to his daughter with a flat smile. Darcy beamed at him with a toothy smile while clutching her mug of hot chocolate.

"New York sounds like fun! And I get to make friends!" she replied, not showing any signs of reluctance. Tony ruffled her hair and turned to Pepper, "Darcy's excited."

Pepper narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Getting Tony to agree to her without a fight is utterly new to her. She didn't have any basic protocol to this situation. Tony never agrees to anyone… unless he's scheming something. "What are you planning…?" she questioned him.

The man blinked at her, a deadpan expression replaces his features. "Excuse me?"

"You just said I'm right." She stated eyes still tight with skepticism.

"Congratulations, you're not deaf." He retorted.

"You're planning something. Spill it." She demanded. Darcy watched the scene before her with gleeful eyes, her head swinging left and right as if she was witnessing a heated argument in a daytime soap opera.

"I finally do something nice to you and you accuse me of scheming something. How endearing." He commented, tinted with mock disappointment.

"So you are scheming something. What are you scheming?" she pestered.

"I'm not scheming anything. Why are you so paranoid?"

"Because you're scheming something." She repeated sternly. Tony chuckled, shaking his head while he finished his coffee. He licked his lips and leaned back, "JARVIS?"

_The 58__th__ floor of MetLife Building, located in 200 Park Avenue, New York, is currently in the possession of the MetLife Insurance Company, sir. However the 37__th__ floor is scheduled for renovations. Shall I create a transaction for this floor, sir?_

"What? The MetLife Building? What are you doing with the MetLife Building? You're _buying_ the MetLife building? Why are you buying the building, Stark?" Pepper stammered, again shocked with the billionaire's capricious decisions.

"I'm not buying the building, Pepper. I'm just buying a floor." He said unperturbedly, "The 58th floor, JARVIS."

_I'll see what I can do._

"Why are you buying a floor, Tony?" she moaned, reaching for her cup only to find it already finished. She needs more calming tea.

"So I have a place to stay when I go to New York." he simply explained. He may not have power to veto the decision of sending his only daughter away to a foreign city, but he has all the power in the world to do any means necessary to make sure that Darcy will be safe. So having a place close to her seemed like a good call. The MetLife Building was a perfect location. It wasn't too far from the school and it's conveniently placed around potential business partners. He can have all the fancy afternoon teas with all the fancy important people he has to deal with as CEO. And of course he'll have a place to monitor's Darcy welfare.

"Was the Chrysler Building unavailable?" Pepper mocked, "The Empire State didn't call you back? Couldn't build your own skyscraper?"

The man took her questions literally and answered, "Yes, yes, and yes. I was planning to add a couple of floors to the MetLife but New York Zoning Laws disagreed with me."

"You were planning to build over the MetLife Building? How are you coming up with this ridiculous stuff, Tony?" she was completely flabbergasted, "Out of all the crazy things you concocted, this has to be the craziest yet."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Pepper, didn't you learn that when you were a kid?" he joked. "What's up JARVIS?"

_There's a chance that you will acquire the floor of your liking if the scheduled renovated of floor 37 is switched to floor 58. Current tenants of the floor will be inclined to move their firms down to floor 37, and you will be able to obtain the lease, sir._

"Great. Okay, Pepper, I want a three-year lease on that floor, as soon as possible. Enroll Darcy Lewis in the Brit school. Knowing the British system, she'll probably be in Year 3. Pay for whatever is needed." He snapped his fingers. Pepper took the cue to dish out her PDA out from her bag. She knew from experience to refrain from asking any more questions. It'll be just a complete waste of time.

"I'm going to school?" Darcy asked quietly, "JARVIS is not teaching me anymore?"

Pepper looked at her with a small smile, "Yeah, honey. Next year, you'll be a normal student and you can make all the friends you want."

"Neat!" she grinned.

_Ma'am, admission season will commence this September. It is advisable that you enroll Ms. Lewis as early as possible to hand in applications and schedule her assessment._

"Assessment?" the little girl questioned.

"Yup, they're going to test how smart you are. Don't worry, you'll finish it in 10 minutes tops," Tony smirked, "Come, let's go to your room and show me your new prototype. Maybe we can use the blender to make a little propeller for your robot. Pepper will be working now."

The father and the daughter slid off their seats. Darcy waved goodbye to Pepper as she pulled Tony's hand to her room. The red-haired woman smiled back and after a few minutes of silence, she turned down to the table to get back to work. She has to come up with an excuse for Obadiah why Tony suddenly bought a floor from a famous skyscraper. She has to contact the building and get the lease and sign paperwork. She'll probably have to fly in to the Big Apple herself to sign more papers and check out the school. She'll also have to make a passport for Darcy Lewis not Darcy Stark. Then she realized.

Who would act as her parent? Tony Stark can't just waltz inside the admission room to enroll his daughter and neither does his famous secretary. She sighed. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.

_Ma'am, shall I gather Ms. Darcy's personal information?_

"Thanks JARVIS, I got it. Hold on while I make a few phone calls then we'll sort this out." She said, reaching for the phone.

_Certainly._

* * *

"Welcome to The British International School of New York!" the woman greeted, "I am Donna Fitzpatrick and I will be proctoring this year's entrance examinations."

The woman was clad in a simple white blouse, topped with a grey blazer with the school's insignia donning on her right bosom. Sleek, long black pants covered her legs as she paced in front of the classroom. She smiled at the sight twenty-four young children before, looking at her with innocent eyes. She scanned the room to find 23 pairs of nervous eyes, only one was different. A little girl sat by the window wriggled on her seat in excitement, her small feet dangled in glee. Her mussy brunette curls bobbled with anticipation as she wiggled her pencil around her finger. Donna smiled at the kid, surprised by the girl's eagerness. Bright blue eyes just twinkled back.

"Okay, at the count of three, please flip over your test booklets and begin answering. Remember, you will only have one hour for this test. If you have any questions, just raise your hand, okay? Take a deep breath and relax and one, two... and three."

* * *

"Welcome, it's a pleasure to meet you." The headmaster greeted the woman as she sat in front of him. The headmaster seemed quite young but he looked promising to her.

"Likewise, Headmaster," she smiled gently, flipping her blond locks behind her shoulders to shake hands with the man in front of her. "It is admirable to see a young Headmaster take great determination to meet all the parents. It must be tiring."

"Oh worry not. This is all for the school and the students." he replied. He took a seat behind his desk and pulled a folder in front of him. He flipped the folder opened and nodded in approbation. "Darcy is quite an interesting child. She seems very bright and has a lot of potential… and has been home-schooled… until now. Why now?"

"We are very conscious of Darcy's welfare. We wanted her to be in a protected place at all times, and we couldn't bring her to go a public school. Then I got news about this boarding school in New York with a fantastic security detail," her grey eyes stared at him with meekness, "and well, you know the rest of the story."

"I can assure you that your daughter is perfectly safe in this school, Ms. Lewis," he replied to woman.

Pepper gathered all her energy to fight the itch growing at the back of her head. If she was to scratch it, her wig would fall off. She forced herself to smile.

"Please, call me Virginia. Virginia Lewis."

* * *

_Pepper disguising as another person? Anything for Darcy._

_The British International School is a real private school but not a boarding school [yea I made that part up]. Besides, the people there are really nice._

_I know that buying a whole floor in the MetLife building is a bit unrealistic but I believe in miracles. Deal with it._

_Tony was born in 1968 by the way. Someone asked._

_Also, to the Guest reader explaining to me the weather in Malibu. Thank you for the insight and I have corrected my mistakes._

******QUESTION******

**Being completely aware of many ships sailing in OTP Ocean, which ship would you go down with?**

**A: Darcy x Loki**

**B: Darcy x Clint Barton/Hawkeye**

**C: Darcy x Captain America/Steve Rogers**

**D: Darcy x Other**

**E: You're the author, make up your own goddamn mind.**

**Please review or PM me your answer. I need to start planning the romance part of this story. Thanks.**


	9. Darcy's Dorm

**First Day - Darcy's Dorm**

"Okay, honey, let's go inside," Pepper muttered nervously. She squeezed her daughter's hand tightly as they promenaded towards the dormitories' doors. The entrance was bustling with waves of red cashmere sweaters, cool gray blazers and crimson striped ties. Children ranging from the age of 4 to 13 were everywhere with their parents, all pumped and ready for the new school year. Everyone but Pepper and Darcy seemed to know what to do and walked past the entrance doors with ease. Pepper skidded to a stop and kneeled in front of her daughter. Darcy seemed very excited, already vibrating in her place eager to start her new life as a normal student. Pepper on the other hand was completely nervous. She wasn't very used to leaving her daughter all alone, unattended. Usually Happy or Rhodes was there to accompany her but now she'll have to take after herself alone. She was also very uneasy of the fact that Tony Stark's only daughter is finally stepping in the real world. One small mistake can lead to a giant catastrophe. They have to be really careful.

"I decorated my room with Daddy yesterday, Ma. You want to see?" Darcy said as she smiled at the woman before. She giggled as she stroked Pepper's hair, "You look great as a blonde, by the way."

"Thanks honey, but it's really loose today," she grimaced, "Which floor is your room in again?"

"Don't worry, you can take it off when we're inside my room. And it's in the fifth floor." Darcy replied coolly, shrugging. Pepper was still in shock to why her daughter's room would be on the highest floor. She figured maybe that Darcy was just admitted this year and they didn't have any more rooms in the lower floors. But she can't imagine the pain of walking up and down every day on five flights of stairs. Darcy comforted her by saying it'll be good exercise for her. Nothing can beat a healthy, active child.

Pepper nodded and stood up. Her daughter grinned as she started pulling her towards the dormitory. They weaved through the vast amounts of people going in and out of the building. Darcy swerved left and right through the stairs, easily avoiding contact with other children, while Pepper nervously walked up holding her head to keep her wig in place. After climbing what seemed like five thousands flights of stairs, Pepper leaned back on a wall, wheezing.

"Are… you… sure that… that was _five _floors?" she exhaled out. Darcy snorted in front of her, swaying back and forth as if the feat they just experience was just a breeze to her, "You're only tired because you had to bump on like five hundred people, Ma. It's easier once you get to the fourth floor, there are less people."

"Yeah, I noticed. There's no one in this floor." She observed, straightening her spine to pull herself back together. She scanned her surroundings and found themselves the only occupants of the floor. The air was different, and it wasn't as quadratic as the other floors; it was like a circle. She felt like she just reached the top of a lighthouse, all rounded walls, but instead of seeing a panorama of a scenic view, she saw six doors circling the stairs. The doors were evenly spaced from each other, painted with a mahogany finish. There were no hallways that sprang out from the walls like the rest of the floors, just six doors.

"Is this the attic? Did they just place you in the attic? Why are you the only one in this attic?" Pepper rambled, suddenly somehow annoyed that her daughter was placed in such a barren place. Darcy giggled by her mother's comical analysis, and just shrugged, "I don't know if we should call this an attic. Daddy just said that we should think that this floor is the penthouse, because every top floor is the penthouse. And I think there's someone living in room number 1," she pointed at the door in front of them, a golden metallurgical "1" adorned the center of the door, "I heard violin music from there when I moved in with Daddy. So I guess someone is living there. Oh well, I guess he or she is new too."

"Let's go inside. This wig feels like it's about to fall off any second now. It's so looser than usual." Pepper grumbled earning a big giggle from Darcy. They walked towards the room labeled '5'. Pepper expected Darcy to stick a key inside the keyhole, but there was no keyhole to begin. Instead Darcy pushed her hand over the wall just beside the door knob. The rectangular piece of the concrete pressed inside then glided upwards to reveal a keypad. The pad glowed turquoise blue as Darcy tapped a six letter combination on it. After she pressed the Enter button, the keypad disappeared as the wall slid back down. And then the mahogany door opened on its own.

"Dad doesn't like keys." Darcy explained as she gestured her mother inside her room. Pepper stepped inside a small corridor, the beige walls decorated with scenes of Malibu. She took off her shoes and felt the cappuccino brown carpet beneath her feet. Then by the distance she caught a glimpse of her bedroom.

Right on the center was a queen sized bed, already fitted with silk comforters. Four clocks hung above the bed, showing time zones for New York, Malibu, Tokyo and Paris. On her right was an L-shaped glass office desk already equipped with a laptop, a desktop with 3 monitors and a plethora of school books. On the other side, there were an array of cabinets and drawers for her clothes, a black upright piano. It was just like a miniature version of Darcy's room in Malibu. "Did JARVIS design your room again?" she asked.

_Indeed, Ms. Potts. I trust it has come to your liking?_

The disembodied voice echoed through the room, making her jump. Was that why Tony insisted so much on decorating Darcy's room?

"Yes, JARVIS. Thank you." She answered breathlessly. Darcy laughed and just gestured her to step inside more. Pepper was suspicious, "Wait, how did your Dad come in here? He can't just waltz in…"

"What else did he do to your room?" Darcy tried to hold back a guffaw by covering her mouth. Now she was more suspicious.

"Daddy built me two computers. One desktop and one laptop. He put a camera and a microphone in each. He also encrypted them and installed JARVIS in case someone breaks in. Also if you go the room on your right is my workshop. I couldn't bring all of my tools though, for shame…" she pouted.

"Your father never ceases to amaze me. And of course, you can't just your creations here without it spontaneously combusting. "Pepper stated, "You still didn't tell me how Tony got here."

"I think you should take off the wig, Ma." She simply said, smirking and with that remark, Pepper realized. She couldn't even picture it. It was just _horrendous_ to imagine.

"I can't believe your father used this wig!" quickly pulling it off from her head, letting her own red tresses fall on her shoulders, "What was he thinking!"

"It was fun seeing the people's reaction of seeing a grown up man wearing a blonde wig. Dad and I couldn't stop laughing!" Darcy exclaimed. Pepper groaned loudly slumping down to Darcy's bed in frustration. So that's why the wig felt so loose. Tony Stark's big genius head wore it. Inhaling deeply, she took a moment of silence to sink everything in. Crumpling the memory of her boss wearing a blond wig and throwing it into the Must-Be-Forgotten trash bin, she thought about more important things. Tomorrow, it'll be Darcy's first day of school. Despite the fact that JARVIS was still with her, Darcy can finally interact with people her age. She can make friends and play under the sun. She'll be a normal girl.

Pepper stood up from the bed and turned to look at Darcy. Clad in ruby red pullover and grey skirt and black knee high socks, she looked so adorable. Then she noticed her brunette hair was growing curlier and bigger that it almost covered her bright blue eyes and the big smile she always loved. She reached her hand towards her face and strokes her pale cheeks gently and smiled. "My little girl is growing up."

"Are you gonna cry again, Ma?" Darcy muttered, eyes flickered with wariness but Pepper just shook her head, "Nah, I'm not crying today, but tomorrow… I don't know about that."

"Don't cry…" Darcy pouted. Pepper couldn't help but pull the girl into her arms, burying her hands in her brunette curls. She fought back tears and just whispered, "Baby, you and I know that I'm not your real mommy. Your real mother, Meredith, is up there in heaven, always watching you. But I want you to know that I care and love you with all of my heart. You're the best daughter anyone could ever have. Let no one tell you any different."

"I love you too, Ma." Darcy whispered back. Pepper released her and cupper her small face, thumbs stroking her porcelain cheeks, "You call every day, okay?"

"Every week." Darcy interrupted.

"Every three days." Pepper offered.

"Deal." The little girl smirked.

"Happy will be there waiting for you outside if your Daddy and I are in town. Your dad will probably be in the city for awhile. He still doesn't like the idea of you going to school." She breathed out, "Also, sometimes, you know if you want but it would be a really nice thought if you call me so we can have lunch or dinner together. You might get a little homesick the first week, so don't hesitate and just call us okay?"

"Mom, mom… I'll be fine!" Darcy giggled. The oh-so stoic Pepper Potts can actually stutter in nervousness. Her mother's anxiety is endearing yet somehow entertaining. Darcy wiggled out of Pepper's hold and pranced towards one of her cabinets. She pulled out the top drawer and pulled out a small box. Pepper narrowed her eyes in suspicion as the girl made her way back in front of her. "You don't need to worry because look…"

Darcy opened the leather box and revealed a small watch. As the sunlight beams escaped through the windows and shone an ambient light on it, Pepper immediately gasped as if someone just flashed a diamond ring in front of her. but she knew that the watch would cost significantly more than a flimsy 5-carat ring.

"Your father…" Pepper exhaled as she slowly took the watch from Darcy, "…is a crazy idiot."

The leather band was sleek and smooth, simple almost, but she knew that it would made from alligator or some kind of other reptile. The case shone with metallic white elegance, scintillated by little crystals that would be none other than diamonds. Behind the crystal glass, showed the metalwork of the clock, each gear moved in its perpetual motion.

"I think Dad said it was by some Swiss guy… Jacob something…" Darcy pondered.

"I correct myself. Your father is one crazy moronic billionaire." She said, "This is by Jacob and Co. They make one of the most expensive luxury watches in the world."

_If I may, Ma'am, the watch is called the Crystal Tourbillion made by Jacob &Co. The original piece had an 18 carat white gold case of the Tourbillion, covered in 17.48 carats of baguette diamonds. Behind the diamond crystal glass, as you can see, is the transparent skeleton tourbillion dial embellished by platinum hands and gold interior. The piece is finished with an alligator band with a 2.22 carat baguette diamond buckle, but Mr. Stark requested that it should be replaced with only a silver buckle. He also requested that the diamonds be replaced with sapphires to avoid suspicion._

"Isn't this too much for a first-day-of-school present? Why would he give you a million dollar-

_$900, 000, to be precise._

"…a nine hundred thousand watch?" she corrected herself but Darcy merely shrugged, "Daddy just told me not to lose it and to always have it on when I go out of this room. He also said that he programmed JARVIS into it… look…" Darcy muttered while she reached for the crown and pushed it. Almost immediately the hands were pushed back and a black matte material began to close towards the center in a geometric form mimicking the way a camera shutter closes. Then blue lights flickered on the black surface, creating a thing straight line across the center. Darcy leaned in closer to watch and whispered, "What's the weather for tomorrow, JARVIS?"

The straight lines began to break into static lines, almost like seismographic lines as JARVIS spoke from the watch.

_The weather in New York City for Tuesday, September 6 will be 70__F with cloudy skies. May I remind you that you should wear fall uniform tomorrow for the assembly?_

"The one with the blazer?" she asked.

_Indeed, Ms. Darcy._

"Okay, cool. Thanks." Darcy chirped as she pushed the crown again, the watch regaining its original state. She straightened her spine to look at her mother's reaction. She was shocked to see Pepper masked with a hard façade.

"Don't worry, Ma. I won't cheat with that watch. Dad said I'm too smart for that." She grinned. Pepper opened her mouth to protest but Darcy spoke again, "And I think it'll be really weird if I just started talking to a watch."

"Just don't be like your Father. I don't want to be back here in two days after being told that my daughter started hacking the school." Pepper groaned inwardly.

"I'm only 7, Ma. Why would I do that?" she smirked mischievously.

"A seven year old kid is a perfect cover." Pepper smirked back, "But then, you don't talk like a seven year old kid. All those years spending time with JARVIS... I feel like I'm talking to a teenager."

"_Indeed." _Darcy mimicked JARVIS. Pepper recalled the time when five-year old Darcy was sitting in front of the TV watching a children's show, suddenly yelling 'Ignorant children!' at the screen. Apparently Tony updated JARVIS's personality a few days back.

"I'll try to act like a stupid child then." Darcy leered but Pepper shook disapprovingly.

"Just act like Darcy." She sighed, "Darcy is just fine."

"That's what Dad said." Darcy smiled, "He said the genius part was intimidating. And intimidating is good."

"Everything about you is good, Darcy." Pepper pulled her into another heartwarming embrace, "Did I tell you I love you yet?"

"Eight times today, Ma."

* * *

"Maaaaaaaaaa. We took at least two hundred pictures already," Darcy groaned loudly. They stood in front of the school, animated by hundreds of children getting inside for their first day. The little girl, already dressed in her fall uniform, a red plaid skirt, grey blazer and dark gray thigh socks, excited to go inside when her mother stopped her to take a couple of pictures. Tony was annoyed that he couldn't come to see her off because of the crowd so he ordered Pepper to take at least a hundred photos. Pepper sighed when Darcy groaned and halted the snapshots. She walked towards and smiled. She should have thought of sending Darcy to school earlier. She looked absolutely _divine_ in a school uniform.

"You have everything? Books, bag, pencils, pen, notebooks?" Pepper asked as she kneeled down in front of her and fixed her tie, "How about your watch?"

"Yup, I got it," Darcy nodded, pulling her right sleeve to show her watch.

"Can you repeat what we discussed again, Darcy? Just to make sure…" she muttered, straightening Darcy's suit. The blue-eyed girl moaned, "But I already repeated it five times already." But Pepper just gave her a sharp look.

"Fine. My name is Darcy Lewis and I came from Ojai, California; zip-code: 93024. My parents are Virginia and Anthony Lewis and they work for Stark Industries as public relation. I have been home-schooled until now. My home school teacher is Jarvis, or Jay, in short and one of my imaginary friends is Happy the Bear. Mom, do I really need an imaginary friend? That's sounds stupid."

"Yes, most children had imaginary friends. I think. That's what I read… Okay continue,"

"I like playing the piano and reading books. I shouldn't correct the teacher if he or she is wrong because that's rude. I should keep my knowledge to myself until needed. Also, if I finished a test in half the time given, I should wait for at least 4 people to hand in their papers until I hand in mine. I should be smart not genius. I shouldn't attract attention. So much for that, 'Darcy is Darcy' advice Mom. Way to go." She commented sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, honey. But we have to take precautions. Be Darcy Lewis as a cover not Darcy Stark." Pepper said apologetically. She didn't really like debasing Darcy. Intelligence is one of her strong points and she's forcing her to hide it, "I'm sorry I'm forcing you to do this. I've been quite selfish lately, aren't I? oh my god this is not good parenting."

"Ma, ma, it's okay!" Darcy laughed, "I understand completely. I was just being sarcastic."

Pepper broke into giggles, ruffling Darcy's head. "You and your father. You two are definitely related."

"Hope that's not a bad thing." Darcy smirked. Pepper loved that smirk. This girl was full of life, it's almost overflowing out of her. Her grey eyes turned soft, almost milky as she held Darcy's face on her hands. She rubbed her thumbs over those little rosy chubby cheeks and held an endearing gaze, "Never. You and I hate to admit it, but also your dad… you two are my greatest treasures… As annoying and egotistic your dad can be, he's one of my friends. Him, and your mom, both of them are my greatest friends. And you… you are a gift from heaven. You're irreplaceable. You're my precious Darcy."

"You're awesome too, Ma. Without you, I wouldn't be here today on my first day of school." Darcy smiled.

Pepper took the last moments to take everything in. Bright azure eyes that twinkled like the stars as always. And her big smile, adorable yet mischievous. Her gorgeous brunette curls, puffy and soft. She's going to miss her.

"To stop myself from crying, I should give you this…" Pepper muttered, holding back a sob, and reached in her magical bag of wonders. Darcy called it that because she seemed to have everything that Tony and she needed every day. Pepper pulled out a small white plastic bag and held it before Darcy, "It's nowhere near as extravagant as your father's gift. In fact, I got it from a small boutique by Times Square … when I saw it I knew it was perfect for you…" she took out the contents of the bag and revealed a black headband. It was simple yet elegant. Ebony black ribbons weaved around the headband giving a sheer sophistication to it. And then saffron yellow and dark ruby roses, made out of organza fabric, adorned the right side. Darcy gasped in response, "It's so pretty!"

"I thought it looked like Flaming Parrots, the colors, I mean. So you can be reminded of home sometimes…" Pepper explained. Tony and Pepper made sure that those flowers decorate Darcy's room at all times. After all, it is such a precious memory of Tony's parents and Meredith. She took the headband and slid it onto Darcy's tresses. The warm colors of the roses contrasted well with her stormy blue eyes, giving them more radiance and emphasis, "Look at you, so beautiful."

"I love it! I love it! I love it!" Darcy quickly embraced her, squeezing tightly with each 'I love it'. Pepper laughed wholeheartedly and hugged her more. "Thanks, Mama. I love you!"

"I love you too, honey." Pepper whispered.

The two shared a long lasting embrace for minutes until a startling ringing bell echoed throughout the place, breaking them out of their trance. Darcy took the cue and gave Pepper a peck on the cheek.

"That's the bell! I have to go or I'll be late!" Darcy chirped, overwhelmed with excitement. Pepper grinned and pushed her lightly, gesturing her to go. The little girl almost galloped towards the doors, dashing with all her might. Pepper stood up and looked on as Darcy stopped by the doors and turned around to give her one last wave of goodbye. She waved back, reflexively shouting, "Call me, okay?" as the girl disappeared behind the school's doors.

Darcy is finally going to school.

After spending one last look of the school, she sighed loudly then turned around. While waiting for a cab, she took out her bulky phone and dialed. She tapped her feet impatiently as waited for someone to answer. The ringing stopped after five sets of rings.

"Oh hey, Pep. Darcy got in?" Tony asked coolly.

"Y-yeah. She's inside now. First bell just rang." She replied. A yellow cab halted before her and she took a moment to settle herself inside. The driver asked where to and she just answered, "MetLife building, please."

"You're coming here?" Tony asked.

"I have to tell you your schedule." She answered.

"Gah. Can't I just take a day off?" he groaned, "Darcy gets to kick ass today, but I don't?"

"No. You have a job, Tony, do it. Darcy is fine on her own. I'll be there in ten minutes, you better be dressed and ready," Pepper said sternly.

"Yes, Mother…" he mocked, then asked, "Did you get pictures?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Darcy's fine?"

"Yeah, she's more than fine."

Then after a pause, he said gently, "Pepper?"

"What?"

"If she's fine, then stop crying."

* * *

_Thank you for all your feedback for last chapter's poll. All of your insights were very, very helpful. I did not expect so many would answer. Thank you again and the romance part of this story is fully plotted :D_

_Also, my 3-D rendering of Darcy's dorm room and her watch is posted in my profile. __It is also in my tumblr: another-stark-one under summary/chapters, in Darcy's stuff. _Hope you like it.


	10. Special Star

**First Day – Special Star  
**

Darcy halted running and touched her knees. She wheezed as she scanned her surroundings. It was definite. She was miserably lost.

_Room 109. I need to find room 109. Gaaaah, I should've asked someone by the entrance where to go instead of running inside. Stupid Darcy, real stupid. I should go back to the entrance…. Ugh where's the entrance?_

She took out a piece of crumpled paper from her pockets and smoothed it open. Homeroom was located in room 109, but she knew she was already far away from it.

_How did I end up near the gym? This is not a good start…_

The other kids around her were already on their way to their respective classes, completely knowledgeable of the directions. She wanted to hit herself for not thinking about memorizing the map the night before. Darcy could just stop one of the kids but all of them were moving so quickly as if she was stuck in the middle of Times Square's rush hour. Then she realized that she was just standing in the middle of the hallway, looking like a lost puppy. Many older students were looking at her weirdly, so she decided to walk slowly along the current of people to avoid any further humiliation.

_Maybe I should ask JARVIS…_

She pushed her schedule back to her pocket and looked at her watch inward. Asking JARVIS would immediately help her but she knew it was too risky. Things would get complicated if people find her talking to her watch, and finding the watch talking back. Things would get _even more _complicated if she activated JARVIS. The computer would surely report back to her father that she was already having trouble before class starts.

_Nope. Bad idea. _She thought, pulling her sleeve back to hide the watch and continued walking. After three minutes she managed to find the entrance again. Breathing a sigh of relief, she figured she should take another route.

_Since I ran straight last time, maybe I should try going right this time…_

Just as she was turning to her right, the entrance doors were banged open by a girl screaming, "I'M LATE. I'M LATE." The girl was so frantic that she blindly ran towards Darcy's way and crashed into her painfully. Both of the two girls collided with so much impact that they both fell down on the floor. Darcy reflexively maneuvered herself so that bag would cushion her fall, but the fall caused her headband to topple to the marble floor. The other girl however devastatingly landed on her bottom, her tail bone hitting the hard surface.

"OW!" the girl yelled while rubbing the affected area. Darcy sighed loudly and stood up to pick up her headband. She looked down at herself, realizing that her perfectly smooth uniform that Pepper worked so hard on was now wrinkled._ Great, my tie is loose and my hair is now a mess. Fantastic. _She took a minute to re-adjust her tie and blazer. She inserted her headband inside her bag knowing that putting it back on wouldn't help taming her wildly curled mane. She sighed again loudly as she slips her bag back on and went to help the girl up.

"You okay?" Darcy exhaled out, offering her hand. The girl stopped whining; just grasping the fact she just bumped into somebody. Quickly taking Darcy's hand, she pulled herself up to face her. "I'm so sorry. I forgot to put my glasses on. It happens when I refuse to wake up early in the morning." The girl apologized. Darcy just smiled flatly as the girl went to dig through her bag for her glasses. She took the moment to examine the girl's face carefully.

She donned an olive complexion, almost golden. Sheer sunlight illuminated her dark chocolate almond eyes, short eyelashes moved wistfully. Everything about her was small: her nose, ears, lips and her stature. An inky black fringe covered her forehead and long dark tresses that reached down to her waist framed her round face perfectly. The girl quietly cheered to herself after finding a pair of thickly framed glasses.

"I'm sorry, again." the almond-eyed girl squeaked as she placed her glasses on. Smiling with frank excitement, "I'm Ivy. Ivy Nguyen, spelled N-G-U-Y-E-N, and pronounced like 'win'. Don't trust other people about my last name."

"Oh it's fine. I'm sorry that I was in your way," Darcy smirked and the Ivy laughed. "Name's Darcy. Darcy Lewis."

"I like you, Darcy, you're funny." Ivy grinned, "Are you new here?"

"Yup, this is my first year."

"You're in Year One? I'm pretty sure you looked older…" Ivy joked, "I'm just kidding. Welcome to BIS. I'm in Year Three, and you?"

Darcy began to beam at her widely. This day wasn't so bad after all. "That's awesome! I'm in Year Three too!"

"Don't tell me…" Ivy said, pulling out her schedule and reading the contents, "…Room 109?"

Darcy screamed internally. She has been blessed with someone who'll be in the same class as her. To make it even better, she's someone who actually knows the directions. "Yes!"

"Lost, huh?" Ivy smirked.

"Yes!"

"Then let's go, my dear friend Darcy, to Room 109."

Darcy grinned widely, nodding to her new friend. She didn't need JARVIS right after all. Ivy seemed like a reliable friend, funny too. She hoped that there would be more people like her in her new school. Continuing her intended route, she heard Ivy laughed.

"Darcy, Room 109 is this way," Ivy said, gesturing her head towards the left of the entrance. Darcy sheepishly smiled and toddled towards her. "Ha… I knew that."

The two managed to reach their homeroom just before the late bell rang. Ivy started rambling about the school, while Darcy stayed quiet. While listening to her new friend, she silently memorized the ways to the classroom from the entrance._ Left, straight four rooms, right, straight ahead then three rooms after the girl's bathroom. .._

Ivy reached for the knob when suddenly Darcy felt a heavy feeling in her stomach, grumbling, and circling. She knew it wasn't hunger; Pepper gave her a hearty breakfast of omelet du jambon and fruits. It was unsettling, uncomfortable tingling in the back of her neck, sliding up and down her spine. Was this anxiety? Was she actually feeling nervous? Ivy was about to turn the knob when Darcy yelped loudly. Ivy looked at her questioningly.

"What's wrong?" she asked warily.

Darcy looked at her, blue eyes morphing into dark cerulean fright. "There…" she gulped loudly, "… there are people in there…."

"And so does the rest of the world, Darcy. What? Scared of people your age?" Ivy giggled but Darcy glowered, "No! Maybe. Yes. I don't know. I don't know how to talk to people my age…"

"You're talking to me right now. "She countered.

"No, um, it's just that… I've been homeschooled." Darcy looked down sadly to the floor, "You're kinda… my first friend…." She bit her lower lip, embarrassed.

Ivy blinked at her for a moment then her lips began to twitch into a toothy grin. She reached for Darcy's hands and cupped them with hers, "Darcy! Don't worry! People will like you! I'm here with you, aren't I? Here, how about this. I'll go in first. People don't really notice me, so you just stay close behind me, and then we can find someplace we can sit together?"

Darcy looked up to see Ivy's smiling face... The gentleness of her gaze made her warm inside, just like Pepper's warm grey eyes. She nodded shyly, inching and crouching close to her. Ivy took the cue to turn around and open the door.

The room was sufficiently lighted, not too dark, and not too bright. Vanilla cream walls surround nine square tables, neatly arranged into rows. Each white table consisted of eight chairs, two on each side of the square. The blackboard was completely cleared, even the surrounding bulletin boards, all waiting for the new school year to start. Darcy slightly extended her knees up to peer up over Ivy's shoulder, and Ivy was right. No one noticed her come in. All tables were occupied by students, talking loudly and lively with each other, all filled except one in the back. She stared in awe of the number of kids in the room; all of them looked differently from each other. Some even spoke in different languages. She then noticed the center table where she sees a young girl with long wavy blonde hair. She had the same blue eyes as herself, only seemingly brighter. It glimmered as the girl laughed with her other friends. Her hair looked like it was properly brushed unlike her untamed hair. If only she didn't make friends with the floor earlier…

Ivy began to tug her towards the unoccupied table in the back. They took the seats next to each other and Ivy immediately went digging through her bag again. Darcy took the chance to fix her hair, conscious of the pretty-haired girl on the table diagonal to her. Parting her hair into two, she twisted them into braids. She then took out her headband to keep away stray hair from her face.

"Nice headband," Ivy commented, her almond-eyes smiling at her behind her glasses, "Who gave you that?"

"My mom. It was her gift to me for my very first day of school." Darcy replied proudly, tilting her head so that Ivy can see it better.

"Let me guess, she bought it from Times Square?" Ivy sneered. Darcy looked at her incredulously, "Yeah, how did you know?"

"Nothing. Just a guess." Ivy chuckled. Darcy was about to protest but the almond-eyed girl suddenly hissed, "Great. Here she comes." Darcy followed her friend's unfriendly gaze, just to see the pretty-haired girl she saw before strutting her way to them. She saw Ivy open her notebook, and acted like as she was sketching something, concealing herself with her long black hair. Darcy put her hands under the table, holding her watch around her left wrist. She didn't know why but having something that her father has given her was somewhat comforting. Her dad maybe the most narcissistic person in the universe, but his material presence gave her needed confidence. She stared blankly at the pretty-haired girl who sat just across them, poised with an air of sophistication. The girl crossed her legs and laced her fingers together on the desk and smirked. The way her right eyebrow perked up as she smirked made a tingling sensation on the back of her head.

Darcy inhaled loudly. She has enough experience to diagnose the girl in front of her. Seven years with Tony Stark has made her exposed to all varieties of textbook narcissism and indescribable arrogance. Those seven years also allowed Darcy to build immunity and some kind of awareness to sense overconfident, supercilious individuals. She never used that sensor of hers to find other people. It somehow only activated when Tony comes into the room with his bombastic voice, "DADDY'S HOME!" But apparently, her "Darcy-sense" tingled when she looks at the girl sitting across.

Fortunately, Darcy was prepared to counteract the self-important contagion in the air. Pepper has taught her that in a situation where she encounters a bigheaded individual, she must become completely apathetic, utterly emotionless. If that doesn't work, Darcy must be prepared to dish out the sarcastic portion of her wits. Pepper guaranteed it always works. She does it with Tony. Inhaling deeply, she put out her best poker face and waited for the girl to speak.

"_Bonjour," _the pretty-haired girl greeted, raising her chin up. Darcy's eyebrow twitched. _Oh, she's French. The aristocracy's language. Perfect. _She thought.

Darcy knew she was aristocracy herself, almost regal in some sense since she is the heiress of a global empire. But Pepper has raised her to enjoy the mundane complexities of life with utmost humility and elegant indifference. Darcy also didn't like the idea of money being the sole identifier of an individual. Intelligence is her greatest power, not dollars. She loved learning like she loved food. Everyday lessons with JARVIS were like daily adventures to her, tackling the wild vines of Math, excavating through layers of History and digging through the ancient sites of Science. And when she opened a book from her grandfather's library, her mind starved for new enigmas and discoveries. Her thirst for knowledge defined her best. And she was thankful that she was curious enough to learn basic French with JARVIS.

"_Je m'appelle Jeanne. Jeanne Delattre," _the girl smiled sweetly. She noticed Ivy roll her eyes at the sound of the French girl. Darcy understood her friend's response. The way the girl communicated was impressive but somehow absurd to her. She continued to stare at the French girl with blank eyes. The girl stared back, smirking even bigger. Darcy was surprised to see her eyebrow inch even higher. _Is that even possible? _She thought.

"Oh right, English. Sorry, I meant to say-

"_Je m'appelle Darcy Lewis. Enchantée!" _Darcy suddenly spoke; figuring apathy wouldn't work on her so she resorted to sass. "_Voulez-vous parlez français ou anglais?"_

Both Ivy and Jeanne gaped at her, shocked by her response, but Jeanne quickly regained her composure and smiled, "_Non, non._ English is fine. Hi, Darcy."

"Hello… Jeanne." She blinked at how this conversation was going so awkwardly, "Can I… help you?"

"I just wanted to say that I like your headband," she stated, bringing her right hand up to cup her face. Darcy noticed something glimmer around her wrists. "Um, thanks? I like your bracelet…" she said, "…I think."

Jeanne then gasped with feigned innocence, "Oh this? My Papa gave this to me for today. Nothing much, just Tiffany," the girl shrugged. Ivy turned to Jeanne to gape at her next, "Their bracelets cost like $400!"

"$500," she corrected haughtily, "But Papa paid more to change the silver to platinum. So it's really around $1000." Jeanne smirked, wiggling her arm more so that they both can see her pearl bracelet.

Darcy squeezed her watch even more tightly to restrain herself. _Don't show your one million dollar watch, Darcy. Don't show it. Money isn't everything. Don't show it. _

"That's neat…" she choked out. Pepper should be proud of her.

"_Merci!_" Jeanne chirped. Then flipping her seemingly perfect blonde hair, she leaned in, "So, is this your first year, Darcy?"

"Yes…" Darcy muttered, looking at Ivy for help. Ivy just groaned inwardly and continued drawing on her sketchbook.

"Oh, I knew it! I came here just two years ago," Jeanne said, trying to sympathetic but Ivy just grumbled, "We _all did_, Jeanne."

Jeanne sent her a glare, sending Ivy back to drawing in her book. She faced Darcy again and smiled, "So, how many stars do you have?"

Darcy looked at her skeptically. She had no idea what was talking about. She then noticed Jeanne's right collar. Three gold stars were studded on the fabric, shining as Jeanne leaned in closer. Darcy looked to her left to see two stars adorning Ivy's collar. She looked down to see hers but she miserably found none. She pouted inwardly, "I… don't know what you're talking about."

Jeanne simply smirked again and straightened her spine to stand up. Flipping her hair once again, she said, "Don't worry. The teacher will be here any minute. Ask her." Then she walked back to seat to talk to her friends. She turned to Ivy to get an explanation but she was already ahead of her.

"You didn't tell me you knew French. Did you see her face? That was awesome, Darcy! Anyway, Jeanne is a three-star while I am a two-star." Ivy grumbled, "Two-stars are average and as you can see the three-stars are the popular ones…"

"Then what am I? How do I-

"Good morning, children. I apologize for my tardiness," a voice rang out. The classroom shushed into silence and everyone returned to their seats. Darcy looked up to see a woman come in. she looked like she was in her early forties, wearing a burgundy suit. Her sun-streaked hair was pulled tightly into a bun, revealing an enigmatic expression. A smooth British accent came out of her mouth. Clapping her hands together to get everyone's attention, she smiled, "Hello, children, as you can probably see, I'm your teacher again." the woman said.

Ivy leaned in to whisper to Darcy, "That's Ms. Brodie. She was our teacher last year too. She teaches English."

"Welcome to another year here in BIS. I trust you all had a wonderful vacation." She said while scanning the room, "It is great to see all of your faces again, my sweets. "

"It's great seeing you again too, Madame," Jeanne rang out, earning a gagging noise from Ivy. Darcy couldn't help but giggle out loud. Everyone's attention turned towards Darcy with emotionless eyes, including the teachers. "Wonderful to see you again, Ms. Delattre… and Ms. Nguyen…" then Darcy gulped as felt Brodie's stare cast upon her, "…a fresh face, I see. Would you like to introduce yourself to us?"

Darcy stared at her wide-eyed. She wasn't ready for any public speaking. She'd only gone public for one month!

"It's all right, child, we won't bite." Brodie chuckled, "Come on, stand up."

Clutching her watch once again, hoping to muster some confidence from the watch's creator, she slowly stood up from her seat. After taking a deep breath, she recited the lines she rehearsed with Pepper. "Hi, my name is Darcy Lewis. I came from Ojai, California."

"What do your parents do?" someone asked from the front. Darcy just stared back, wide-eyed.

"I apologize for that, Darcy," Brodie glared at the student who called out, "Most of the students here are sons and daughters of diplomats. Like young Jeanne here, is the daughter of the Press and Communications Director of the French Embassy. You don't have to tell us anything you're uncomfortable with."

"My parents work for Stark Industries," Darcy blurted out of annoyance. She didn't like the atmosphere of the classroom. She didn't expect to be in a room full of snobby people. Since when did schools classify people by their parent's jobs?

"They work in the public relations department. And this is my first time going to school. I've been learning at home."

She noticed some of the students nod in approval. Apparently, having parents that work under Stark Industries is admirable.

"That's very incredible, I say, Ms. Lewis. Getting a job in Stark Industries is quite difficult." Ms. Brodie commented.

Darcy nodded and went to sit down again but a voice, annoying to her, spoke out.

"_Madame, _Darcy hasn't received her star rating." Jeanne informed. Ms. Brodie looked at Darcy incredulously, "Oh, is that right, Ms. Lewis?"

"Yes…" she stuttered shyly.

"Do you know the fundamentals of the star system, child?" the teacher asked but Darcy just shook her head.

"Well, sit down, lass. It'll be quite a mouthful to explain." Ms. Brodie gently said and Darcy sat down immediately. The teacher walked slowly up to the blackboard and took out a chalk. The class watched intently as Brodie drew a large triangle on the board. Then she parted it with four parallel lines, making five distinct levels. Then she began to draw one star inside the bottom level, two on the next, and three and so on. Upon reaching the pinnacle of the pyramid, she drew one star inside a circle. She then turned around to face Darcy.

"The British International School has a unique system to encourage students to work on their studies. To put it on a nutshell, the more stars you acquire, the more, let's say, _privileges_ you are given. There are five ranks in this school: one-star, two-star, three-star, four-star, and the highest one five-star or as we like to call, Special Star. The higher your rank means that you will get better lodging, better lunches, and more money to spend in the campus et cetera. Your rank will be determined by the level of your intelligence potential, academic progress, and behavioral conduct. I trust that you have taken the entrance exam, Ms. Lewis?"

"Yes…" Darcy gripped her watch tightly. She was getting really nervous. She had actually finished the test in 34 minutes under an hour allotment time. But her results weren't given to her.

"Do you know your score?" Ms. Brodie asked but Darcy shook her head again.

"Then how would we know her rank, _Madame?_" Jeanne asked. Ms. Brodie smiled at her knowingly, "Once we know that she has taken the entrance exams, we can determine her star level easily. Ms. Lewis, I assume you have been given a dormitory room?"

Darcy nodded, "Yes…"

"Then can you tell us which floor you reside on? I must remind you that star ranks give certain privileges. One of them is having an improved dorm room…" Ms. Brodie explained.

Darcy was silent for the moment.

"Darcy? Tell us." Ivy whispered, "It's okay."

"It doesn't make sense, Ms. Brodie..." Her eyebrows furrowed in thought, "If they did rank us by grade, why would they place me in the attic? Did I fail the test?"

Darcy recalled the time when she and Tony first opened the room, everything was dusty and dark. Cobwebs plagued every nook and cranny of the room. The big windows were veiled with heavy velvet curtains and the carpet coughed dust as they stepped on it. Tony had to steal Peppers wig to call a cleaning service and some his robots to help design the room.

Everyone stared at her in disbelief.

"The room was dusty when I got it and I think I'm the only one living on the floor. Well I think there's another one in room 1 but I've never seen him or her."

"Darcy... There is no attic in the dormitories," Ms. Brodie simply said.

"Then what's the fifth floor?" she retorted.

Almost unison, everybody gasped but Jeanne's voice rang out egregiously.

"You're a Special Star?"

Ms. Brodie simply smiled again at her and called the class in session to distribute handouts. "You didn't tell me that you're a Special Star!" Ivy hissed under her breath.

"What? I didn't know!" Darcy hissed back.

"Getting four stars is really hard, you know? You have to be really smart. But you! You're higher!"

Darcy wanted to explain to her, but she didn't know what to say. She only sighed in response.  
After an hour of orientation, the teacher excused herself to go to the Main Office to get Darcy's star. After the shutting the door close, all of the students in room scrambled towards the Darcy's table to surround her. Darcy crept closer to Ivy, daunted by the crowd closing in on them. She gripped her watch tighter to the point she thought she might actually break it as she tried to process the student's incessant questioning.

"Who are you really?" someone asked, then followed by, "What did you get on the entrance exam?" then "What does your room look like?" then "Have you met Alex?"

"W-what? I'm Darcy. I don't know w-what I got on the test. My room looks like… a room. Who's Alex?" Darcy stuttered. The kids continued asking her more questions like a buzzing paparazzi. So much for keeping on the down low.

"Move." A voice demanded, and the kids across Darcy immediately moved back to let Jeanne in. Darcy found no traces of the arrogant smirk she wore earlier, when she thought that she was actually superior to Darcy. Her blonde eyebrows drew together, forming an angry scowl. She placed her hand on her hip and flicked her chin up at her. Darcy gulped.

"There's only one Special Star in this school and it's Alex Mayr. 8- year old violin prodigy from Austria. Papa says that he was enrolled here when he was only three. He learned the violin at 2." She said proudly, "I met him last year and _we_ became best friends."

The students around gaped at Jeanne widely. Darcy was shocked too but for an entirely different reason. "You mean that was him playing yesterday? It sounded aweso-

"'Awesome' doesn't describe Alex's music." Jeanne corrected her sternly, "He's the only one living in the fifth floor because he is a genius. Only geniuses can live in the fifth floor. Now… who are _you_ really?" she narrowed her eyes.

Darcy swallowed again. She was supposed to smart not genius. But the school wasn't giving her any chance to hide it. If people find out that she actually had an affinity with the intricacies of engineering and technology, it wouldn't take long until someone figures out that she's a Stark. She hated lying and she was actually a bad liar herself. But Pepper and Tony have taught her well. When someone asks her a conflicting question, she must answer with the most straightforward answer.

"I told you. I'm Darcy. Darcy Lewis," she affirmed.

"You know what I mean," Jeanne huffed, "Who are you?"

Nothing but a bit of a Stark's brazen attitude wouldn't hurt, Darcy thought. "I just told you. My name is Darcy Lewis. Are you deaf?"

Jeanne crossed her arms on her chest in response, eyes narrowing by the second. "I mean, what are your talents?"

"Talents?" Darcy asked, "I think I have the talent to end this conversation." She was getting annoyed. She actually took that phrase from Pepper when she was arguing with Tony. Her mother should make a book of comebacks. Nevertheless, she was aggravated. She was planning to talk to her new friend today, to know more about Ivy but these people are being too troublesome. She picked up her bag and slipped in on her back. Then she took Ivy's left wrist and tugged it, "Come on Ivy, let's go."

"Go where? Ms. Brodie will be back any minute now from the Office." Ivy asked, clutching her sketchbook to her chest. The students around them dispersed as Darcy loudly stood up from her table and pulled Ivy towards the door. "Look at your schedule. We have a free period after homeroom. We're going to the library. And we'll meet Ms. Brodie on the way." She was about to turn the door open when she heard Jeanne yell.

"Hey! You didn't answer my question!"

"_A bientot, Jeanne!"_ Darcy sang, not looking back and the two disappeared.

* * *

"Ms. Lewis? Ms. Nguyen? Is that you?" a voice rang. Darcy and Ivy were about to go up the stairs to the library when they heard their teachers voice call them. The two turned around slowly, smoothing their skirts to act cool. "Hello, Ms. Brodie," they both greeted sheepishly.

The teacher wore a flat smile as she approached the two girls on the bottom of the hallway. Her eyebrow crept up, somehow amused by the sight. "…and where are you two planning on going?"

Ivy started stuttering, unable to produce a coherent response. Darcy sighed and just answered truthfully, "We're going to the library, Ms. Brodie."

"Why is that, Ms. Lewis? Does my classroom not suit your tastes?" Ms Brodie sneered. Ivy just stuttered again, and wormed behind Darcy.

The girl however was completely unfazed. She learned that the best way to achieve her way was to answer with short concise truthful ways. "No, I like your classroom, Ms. Brodie, I like it very much. I just don't like the people in it."

Ms. Brodie jerked her back, dazed by the girl's frank honesty. Dazzling azure eyes just stared at her with utter indifference and confidence. This girl is interesting.

"Well, Ms. Lewis, I am sorry for that. But I have to inform you that the library is restricted to unsupervised students." Brodie expected the girl to show some kind of disappointment but the little maintained a blank façade.

"I'll supervise Ivy. And Ivy will supervise me. How does that sound?" Darcy smirked, nudging Ivy.

Ms. Brodie was now beyond amused. "As much as I esteem your witty remark, Ms. Lewis, I'm afraid I still have to say no." Darcy finally groaned in defeat, her shoulder slumped down in frustration.

"But I should also inform you, Ms. Lewis," Brodie grinned as she reached for Darcy's uniform. Darcy felt her collar tugged as the teacher spoke, "Special-stars do live up to their name… they get _special _privileges, as I have explained earlier." She raised Darcy's chin and smiled, "Luckily for you, I think one of them is the entitlement to full access to the library." Ms. Brodie pulled back her hand and sneered.

Darcy heard Ivy gasp, her full attention directed towards her collar. Looking down, she sees a golden star set upon a crimson circle, glimmering. Before she could look up fully to thank her teacher, Ms. Brodie was already on her way back to the classroom. Without looking back, the teacher just waved, "Be sure that you bring Ms. Nguyen back by 3rd period, Ms. Lewis."

* * *

"This is so cool!" Darcy whispered. The library was conveniently situated at the side of the school. It mimicked a hallway, long and vast. Big panes of glass replaced the walls to reveal a panoramic view of the East River. The cerulean waters and sky gave a calming semblance on the establishment, providing sufficient sunlight for its visitors. She gasped in awe as she saw all the arcade of bookshelves populating the long room. Ivy followed her and shrugged, "It's just the library. No one ever comes here unless we have to."

"You're right, darling. No one comes to the library," someone said behind them. Both of them turned around to find an old man behind the librarian counter. He took down the newspaper that was veiling his face and set it down on the desk. They hear his bones crack as he pushed himself up from his swivel chair. He fixed the suspenders on his checkered shirt and adjusted his thick, amber-colored glasses to see his two new visitors, "To whom do I owe the pleasure?"

Ivy smiled weakly at the man, "Hey Stan. Nice to see you again." the old man slicked his silky ashen hair back and gave a brassy trumpet-like laugh, "New school year again, huh? Who's the doll-face?"

"I'm Darcy!" the girl chirped, "Hi, Stan!"

"Stan the Library Man, at your service, Darcy," Stan greeted. Then he paused for a little bit, staring pensively at Darcy. After a minute, he raised two fingers to gesture her. "Come a little closer, I have to tell you a secret."

Darcy froze in reluctance. The old man's appearance wasn't exactly warming and he was looking at her weirdly. But Ivy nudged her, indicating that it was safe. She slowly stepped towards the counter and leaned in.

"I have been watching the library for at least a decade, child." Stan murmured, smiling gently at her, "And I have to tell you that this is my first time seeing that kind of star on your collar," he said while poking the star on her collar.

The little girl pulled back to grin at Stan, smirking widely, "No way! Me too!" she giggled. The old man broke into laughter too then happily sighed, "I guess I have to let you in the restricted area, then, huh?"

Both the girl tilted their heads, puzzled. Ivy has been in the library school before but she has never come across of any restricted area. But then again, she never really explored the library unless it was required.

"Come on, I'll show you," Stan gestured them to follow him. He dug his hand into his pocket to get his keys and led them through the hallway of books. The two followed closely, filled with overwhelming curiosity. Darcy on the other hand was excited. She thought that being a Special Star was a bad idea since it attracts so much unwanted attention. But after finding out that they have reserved a secluded place for her, it wasn't so bad after all. As she walked, she realized Stan's first statement before. Increasing her pace to catch up to Stan, she asked, "What do you mean it's your first time seeing a Special Star? You never met Alex?"

"Who's Alex? Never heard of him." The man merely grunted.

"He's a Special Star like me. Apparently he has been here since he was little. Today is just my first day."

"You see Ms. Darcy, I only stay here in the library, most of the time. So it's natural for me to just associate myself with library visitors, you know? Seeing that you chose this place for your free period, I assume you have an affinity with books?"

"Yes! I like reading! I used to read some from my Grandpa's library when I'm bored. Sometimes I don't understand them so I ask JARVIS to explain it to or my dad." She happily explained.

"Jarvis?" Ivy asked from behind.

"My tutor." Darcy pursed her lips together. She forgot to not ramble again. Next thing she knows she accidentally blurts out that Tony Stark is her father. Not good.

"Your grandfather must have an excellent collection." Stan chuckled.

"Indeed. Grandpa has a lot of books! A plethora!" Darcy waved her hands in a circular motion to demonstrate how big it was. "I actually came here to see if you have the book I'm currently reading. But I forgot it back home…"

"You sure don't talk like a kid, huh?" Stan pointed out. Darcy squeaked. She needs to remind herself to stop talking like JARVIS. "What book are you reading now?"

"_The New Science of Strong Materials,"_ Darcy answered. Tony allowed her to bring some books with her to New York City. She only picked out the simplest ones to avoid suspicion if anyone enters her room. What would somebody say if they found a book with Howard Stark's name on it?

"By James E. Gordon? Why, Ms. Darcy, aren't you a little too young to read an engineering book?" Stan asked, astonished by the little girl's choice of leisure reading. Darcy found no strength to answer back. She just looked down as they reached the end of the hallway. Stan scratched his scruffy white mustache as he jingled his keys, "I guess that's what Special Stars read in their spare time. I'm sure I don't. And here we are."

The three stopped in front of antique-looking double doors. Birched wood coated with a dark cherry finish were ornamented with obscure yet elaborate leaf carvings, snaking up and down the strokes of the wood. Above the doors placed a golden plaque, dull of any metallic sheen, that read black letters, "Restricted". The old man scrolled through his keys to find muted, lackluster bronze key and inserted it on one of the golden door knobs. A clicking sound rang through their ears as Stan twisted the key. Darcy waited for him to open, holding her breath in anticipation, but Stan only pulled back the key. She looked up to him in suspicion.

"I'm going to tell you another secret, Ms. Darcy," the man chuckled through golden tinted glasses, "Truth is, I've been inside this room a million times. Well, I'm not allowed to, for God knows why, but I've slipped in there to drink a couple cups of coffee. And I have to tell you, drinking there is pure bliss." The man smirked at the two. "If you ever feel unsatisfied with the books outside, this room has it all. I've heard that this used to be the first headmaster's office but now they have relocated it in the West Wing, they are reserving this for students- dignified ones who are smart enough to treasure the knowledge contained inside. And I am very confident that you are one of those people, am I right, Darcy?"

Darcy was speechless, just nodding at the grinning man. Stan gave out a deep laugh as he patted Darcy's head, "I'm sure you are kiddo. And here," he then pulled the bronze key out of his key ring and held it out to Darcy, "You might as well have this. You can come here whenever you want. Once the doors close, only this key will open it. There are no other duplicates so make sure you don't lose this, okay?"

"Thank you! And I won't, Stan!" she gently took the key away and clutched it tightly to her chest. How blessed she felt she was. Unfortunate time always rewards with better endings. She wanted to jump endlessly in joy.

"I guess I should leave you and your friend alone. You use this library well, you hear me? Show that kid, what's-his-face, Alex, what he's missing. Hearing that he has been here all this time and didn't have the nerve to visit the library is vexing. If you need anything, I'll be in my desk."

The man left with a smile and sauntered back along the long hallway of books. Darcy looked at the door in front of her again and exhaled a contented sigh. Ivy crept closer her to whisper, "What's 'vexing'? 'Plethora'? Engineering books? Darcy, you gotta tell me everything!"

Darcy twisted her mouth into a smirk, "It means annoying; inconvenient; worrisome. Plethora means many; surplus; excess. Read a book sometimes. I suggest _To Kill a Mockingbird _by Harper Lee. Riveting novel. And I'll tell you all about me when we get inside." The cool metallic sensation of the door knob almost electrified her. She didn't know if it was the static from the carpet or just the basic thrill of the experience.

"You know you could've just used the simpler words…" Ivy grumbled, stepping closer to Darcy as she opened the door, "And I read _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_, okay? Whole 48 pages. And oh my god…."

The two girls stepped inside the room, the carpet now replaced with light oak. Darcy let the door close on its own behind her as she marveled at the sight. "The original hardcover, Ivy, has 208 pages. I think you were reading the simplified version." She told her friend, slowly spinning in her place to completely be amazed by the library, "its okay, I think we can find the original version… here…."

The secret room was roughly the size of the normal library outside the doors. It didn't stretch, however, on the side of the building. It was horizontal to the normal library, almost making an L-shape if someone were to look at the floor plan. The windows were as big as the wall, veiled by thick red velvet drapes, adorned with golden tassels. Wispy dust floating about like miniscule dancing fairies, pirouetted in the air lingeringly in the warm sunlight's embrace. A long mahogany desk sat just a couple of feet away from the window, encumbered by dozen of old-looking books. A burgundy colored chair, largely cushion with velvet, was slanted as if someone just stood from it. The other three walls were entirely embedded with dark oak bookshelves, not one space was unoccupied. Darcy saw glimpses of vast collections of encyclopedias, atlases, novels and more on the walls. The ceiling was also a stunning display of pure art, enlivened with intricate gold-leaf paintings, swirling with the elegance of gold. A long deep ruby carpet stretched in the center, enhancing the unsullied beauty of the library. It was absolutely baroque.

"Oh my gosh, Darcy, look! There's a fireplace, and a ladder!" Ivy yelled. Her voice seemed like it was away from Darcy so she turned around only finding Ivy in the middle of the vast room. Amidst the ten feet tall bookcases, a classic hearth was framed by red bricks. Faced suitably to it were three ivory tinted sofas. A Moroccan rug sprawled under the couches evoking a classic homely atmosphere in the room. Ivy jumped on one of the sofas and lay languidly on the cushion. Grinning happily, Darcy sat on the chair beside her. Dazed by the amazing room she was in, she sighed, "This was just how I imagined Hogwarts' library. I feel like Hermione!"

Ivy sat up from her place to look at her weirdly, "What are you talking about?"

"You know? Harry Potter? Written by J.K. Rowling? The book came out last year. I got it for my birthday." She explained.

"You got a book? I got a Barbie doll for my birthday." Ivy said. Darcy pouted, "Does getting a book sound weird?"

"To some people, I think. But I guess it'll work for someone like you."

"Like _me?" _Darcy repeated in disbelief. Her friend just shrugged. "You're a genius!"

"Me?" she pursued again.

"Oh you don't have to hide it. My mommy says to never be ashamed of your talents. That's why she works really hard so I can go to this school," Ivy opened her pink sketchbook opened and flipped a couple of pages. Darcy gasped as her almond-eyed friend showed her a sketch, "This is my mom. She owns a little store in Times Square. She makes jewelry and accessories,"

"You drew that?" Darcy marveled at the pencil sketch before her. it was realistic, not typical of a child's drawing. Ivy smiled shyly at her, nodding quietly. Then she flicked her head, gazing at Darcy's headband then looked back at her. "My mom made that headband you're wearing right now. Pretty, right?"

"This is amazing. You two are amazing!" Darcy squealed, jumping from her seat to sit next to Ivy, "I wish I can be that amazing."

"Uh, I think you're already are." Ivy smirked, poking at the star embedded on Darcy's collar, and the two laughed.

Darcy spent the rest of the period, talking to her new friend, learning about every nook and cranny of the school. Listening intently to every advice and story, she drew the conclusion that Ivy is being inadvertently left out by her classmates because of her financial background. Apparently, she was placed in a class where 90% of the people came from the high reaches of the social hierarchy. Sons and daughters of diplomats, entrepreneurs, directors, people abundant of material wealth were enrolled in the school. She realized that some people drop their kids off in the boarding school for dignity, and power. They place their kids in overly privilege schools for competition, regardless of their children's welfare. Ivy was a different case. She got here by scholarship, graced with artistic talents. Her mother wanted her to have the best education. She pondered if she was brought to this school too of the same reasons. Did Tony and Pepper bring her to a boarding so that they don't have to encumber the burdens of child-rearing?

She quickly removed the idea in her head, feeling the weight of the watch that her father personally modified for her. Heck, he even installed JARVIS in her room to keep watch of her. He even bought a whole floor of the MetLife Building so that he can be close to her. She was loved. Exceedingly and unconditionally.

The two's conversation was brought to a stop, when a ringing sound tolled across the library. As they both fixed themselves and slipped their back packs on, Ivy reminded her again, "Just stay away from Jeanne. She's a meanie."

Darcy nodded and followed Ivy towards the exit of the library. She left the restricted room with the full understanding that Jeanne is a full diva in the making. She was produced by the lavish upbringing of her parents from Paris and the supercilious environment of New York's Upper East Side. Darcy asked Ivy if Jeanne really knew Alex Mayr, but her friend just said that she had never saw Jeanne with the said Special Star.

As they waved their goodbyes to Stan, they made their way to their classroom for English.

* * *

"Yeah, today was great, Ma!" Darcy cheerfully answered. She clutched the telephone tightly as she swiveled herself on her office chair. Her day went smoothly well. First days were usually entitled to orientations and introductions so no new materials were learned. She spent most of the day talking to her new Ivy, and explored the school. Regrettably the school did not have any workshops she hoped she would get to work in. The only thing close to an engineering fortress she had back home was the woodwork class and the library. The restricted area of the library was full of books from esteemed college like Princeton, Yale, MIT, and Harvard. She managed to take out the book she wanted. She'll need it for her next project.

It was about six in the evening, when she suddenly had the urge to call her parents. It was almost a reflex to her to quickly tell her parents what she has done during the day when they come home from work. Pepper would always bring a slice of cake for her from wherever they came from and Tony would always find the time to teach her new stuff in his workshop. But now, Pepper and Tony weren't present in her dorm room. She immediately took the phone and dialed the numbers Tony had given her. Pepper answered at the first ring and immediately asked how her day was.

"I'll put you on speaker, your father wants to talk to you," Pepper informed. After a click, a playfully deep voice reverberated through the telephone's speakers. "Kiddo! Miss me already?"

"I miss you so much, Daddy," she giggled, "I miss Mama too…"

"Then come back home. I'll have a chopper ready in ten minutes. Hey Pep, do you think the parking lot would be empty right now?" Tony said. She laughed as she heard Pepper ask him if he was serious or not.

"Daddy, I'm fine here!" she spouted, "I was just kidding…"

"What? You don't miss me? That's cruel, kid." Tony jested, "Hey, how was your first day? Did you kick any ass- argh Pepper- I meant butts… Did you kick any butts today?"

"Only mine. Apparently I'm a Special Star…" Darcy rambled on how she found out her great discovery as a Special Star. She told them about the library, Ivy and Jeanne. Tony just chuckled back.

"Come on, baby. You are brilliant! Enjoy the attention!"

"I didn't raise her to be like you, Tony." Pepper retorted, "Honey, I'm proud of you, you know that? Keep up the good job."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, I'm starving. You guys wanna get something to eat? Pepper can pick you up…"

"No thanks, Dad. I'd like to try the food down the dinner hall. You two eat without me," Darcy smiled flatly.

"Look at this, Pepper. My daughter is less than a decade old and she's refusing to eat dinner with us. What have you done?" Tony grumbled a tint of sarcasm present in his tone. Darcy smiled as she heard Pepper stutter back.

"You go eat dinner, Darcy," the man ordered nonchalantly, "Let Pepper sulk in shame."

"Okay, Daddy."

"Don't forget your watch!" he reminded with slight haste.

"It's still on my wrists. Don't worry." she assured them while glancing down her watch, "Oh its 6:30. I have to go down now. Love you Daddy. Love you Mom."

"I love you too, kiddo," Tony sighed.

"Don't forget to eat your carrots, Darcy! It's good for your eyes! You don't want to wear glasses, do you?" she heard Pepper yell on the phone, "I love you, darling!"

"Yes, Ma…" Darcy muttered. She bid them goodbyes and returned the phone back to its place.

"JARVIS, I'm going down to eat dinner." She laughed. Oh how crazy she must look talking to a disembodied being…

_Very well, Ms. Darcy. Ms. Potts has informed me to remind you bring a thin jacket with you every time you leave the premises._

"Got it," Darcy said while she pulled out a green pullover from her closet. She checked her braids in front of the mirror and adjusted her watch. She pulled on a pair of brown boots and made her way towards the door. As soon as she stepped outside of the room, unbeknownst to her, red geometric lights scattered throughout the room. The lasers hit every corner and furniture.

_Defense mode activated._

* * *

Darcy pulled the door behind her and sauntered towards the stairs. After stepping down a few steps, she realized she'd forgotten something. She groaned loudly, pushing herself down to sit on the steps. Pouting, she didn't remember to ask Tony to send some tools for her. she needed a few materials for her next project and she needed them right away.

"But I don't want to go back to my room!" Darcy moaned to herself, burying her face in her hands. Luckily, she realized that she didn't have to go to back to her room. What's the point in doing so if JARVIS is right there with her. In her watch.

Without any hesitation, she tugged her sleeve back to reveal the Tourbillion watch Tony had given her. Turning the crown on the side, the face of the clock began to fade to black, after a few seconds, a blue horizontal line appeared on the center.

"JARVIS?"

The horizontal line began to morph into geometric waves.

_How may I help you, Ms. Darcy?_

"Did Ma and Dad leave the building yet?" she asked her watch.

_Not yet, ma'am. Mr. Stark is currently speaking with Mr. Stane on the phone. Shall I leave him a message or should I connect you to Ms. Potts?_

"It's fine. Ma might be busy. Can you just leave a message then?"

_Certainly._

"Okay, tell Dad I need at least 5 of: Bose noise-cancelling headphones, preferably black; 2.5 mm headphone jacks; a shotgun microphone system with -60 decibel sensitivity, 40 decibel gain for the amplifier, the smallest one; 50 AA lithium ion batteries; and black and white fleece fabric, one yard each."

_Will that be all, Ms. Darcy?_

"Yep. Thanks." Darcy sighed in relief. She twisted the watch's crown again to turn it back to a normal watch. While drawing her sleeve back down, she stood up to continue her way down the dinner hall.

Upon reaching the midpoint of the fifth floor and the fourth floor, a voice rang out. "Neat trick. Do it again."

Darcy immediately stopped in her tracks, wide blue eyes frantically looking for the source of the voice. She looked down to her watch to see if JARVIS was activated again, but the watch was still closed. She looked left and right, and down but no one was there. "Up here," the voice was monotonous, stoic. She was confident it wasn't a girl.

She followed the voice, slowly raising her head. The boy above her was leaning nonchalantly on the fifth floor's railings, coolly looking down on her. He wore an oversized black pullover and grey jogging pants. Jet black hair spiked out from his hood, unkempt and unruly. His amber eyes stared back at her, completely lifeless. Darcy didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think either. Part of her was screaming helplessly inside, knowing that her true existence has been found out. Part of her, however, was dying of curiosity of the boy talking to her.

Darcy gulped loudly as she whispered the name, "Alex… Mayr?"

* * *

_**I made a tumblr for this fanfic. I'll be posting pictures and the chapters there, maybe gifs. If anyone wants to see how I pictured little Darcy, Ivy, Jeanne and Alex, feel free to stop by: another-stark-one**_

_The Star system derived from my old school's system. Instead of star pins, it was roses. White rose, pink rose, yellow rose, red, then blue. Students who wore a blue-colored rose pin would get esteemed mentors, cooler dorms, and etc. I was a yellow rose and there were 8 blue-roses._

_Ivy Nguyen, Jeanne Delattre, and Alex Mayr are OC's. Stan Lee cameo'd :D_

_Also, I will be spending more time with Darcy's experiences as a kid, and a teenager. Don't worry, I will try to be as detailed with the Avengers part. _

_P.S. _

_Someone reviewed: "I'm always suprised at how quickly my grin drops when I finish reading your updates."_**  
**

_I'm not sure whether this was intended as a negative comment or a positive one... or maybe my Engrish is just that bad, huh? Someone tell me. The ambiguity is killing me. _


	11. Power over Intellect

****_I made a small representation of Darcy's hi-tech watch. Please visit my tumblr if anyone wants to see it: another-stark-one_

* * *

**Power Over Intellect**

A month has passed, and the suspense has been gnawing every bit of her sanity. The process was excruciatingly slow and Darcy grimaced at this new kind of torture. She didn't know if she could keep up with it any longer. She let herself fall onto the throw pillows on the carpet and blankly stared at the fireplace in front of her. Ivy wasn't there to accompany her in the library, she had better things to do than Darcy lazily mopped around during her free period. Squeezing the cotton covers of the pillow, she groaned in frustration.

Recalling her recent encounter with the famous Special Star, Alex Mayr, she wanted to hit herself for not thinking. If she analyzed her actions more, she would've decided to go back to her room and talk to JARVIS safely. With that, she wouldn't have to be found out. And if she hadn't been found out, she wouldn't have the impulse to just run away.

Yes, she ran away. Before the boy could answer her question, she dashed down to the second floor to run towards Ivy's room. Before making some excuse to why she just had a conversation with her watch, she ran. Darcy didn't have the full understanding of the situation. How long have Alex been listening? Did he find out about her true identity? Did she just jeopardize the one secret Tony and Pepper worked so hard to keep?

She doesn't know. That was what irking her the most. That was what has been eating her slowly. She doesn't know. And for one week, there has been no word of him. There also has been no word that leaked out that she was actually Tony Stark's daughter.

Darcy expected that he was using it for blackmail. She has seen it all the time with Tony and Pepper. But the problem was… the blackmailer wasn't there. She has not heard anything from him. She hadn't even seen him after that day.

She sighed loudly, exasperated. It has only been a month since she was exposed to the outside world and she hoped to encounter more brilliant endeavors. She saw herself scavenging through the old knowledge embedded deep inside the books inside the library. She dreamt of building new things, exploring every crevice of the vast world. And yet, she found herself lying down in the center of it, staring sadly at a contraption she had created.

Despite the overwhelming burden of her plight, the materials she had ordered from Tony were fortunately sent to her room the day after. Upon returning from her second day of school, a big cardboard box was waiting her on her bed. JARVIS notified her that Pepper stopped by personally during noon to drop off the materials. She attempted to forget about her problems and quickly pulled it towards her minuscule workshop. Her workshop was nothing like her father's. Inside the square room, a glass table was placed on all sides, packed with basic tools such as screwdrivers, wrenches, nuts and bolts. Apparently, she was too young to use a blowtorch.

Swiftly arranging the materials she received on her workshop table, she spent the week building her new device. Even with having to fail at the first two tries, she managed to modify noise-cancelling headphones to a super-spy gadget. She took apart the microphone system she acquired, and reassembled it on to the headphones, installing it on the exterior of each ear. She also altered her watch by adding an audio jack hole on the side allowing a 2.5 mm headphone jack to fit into it. The headphones looked like normal noise-cancelling headphones to any person, but once plugged in to her watch, she can control and change it to a noise-amplifier. She figured it would be quite useful to keeping unnecessary chatter from penetrating through her ear drums. She had been hearing it even since people found out she was a Special Star. They would talk about their skepticisms of her identity, even talk trash. Darcy couldn't believe that children her age were capable of trash-talk. Still flabbergasted, the noise-cancelling part of her invention was useful. Moreover, she used her headphones to hear more of this useless talk. If she was lucky, with a simple turn of the crown on her watch, she would catch Jeanne and her plots.

Jeanne. The moment she was shut down by some new girl from some unknown place, she planned many things to get back at her. Never wanting to feel humiliated again, she would concoct schemes to subjugate Darcy. There were inherently childish tactics, Darcy described, common for normal, jealous, spoiled brats. Jeanne planned to get her by trying to tape a note, 'Kick me' on her back. She tried putting a whoopee cushion on her seat. She also tried throwing a chalked up eraser at her, and even hid her belongings. One day, she got really crafty and hid her _own_ bag in the closet and blamed it on Darcy to Ms. Brodie.

All of those failed, aided by Darcy's contraption. She was able to use its amplifying abilities to hear these plans of Jeanne's and avoid them. Well, _counteract_ could be a better description. Before Jeanne could stick a note on her back, she already had a sign plastered on herself. Jeanne walked around the school for the whole day with an 'I love Darcy. Hug me.' on her back. Before Darcy could sit on a whoopee cushioned chair, Jeanne found herself sitting on a seat-full of whipped cream. Darcy was able to avoid the eraser throw, and even find her hidden belongings with ease. And even before Jeanne can tattle on Darcy for knowingly hiding her own things, they have already made their way back near Jeanne. And there were all thanks to her noise-cancelling/amplifying headphones.

She grinned quietly to herself, inwardly patting herself in the back for the clever feat. The headphones were extraordinarily useful and she was glad to have thought of it. Staring at it explicitly, she wondered the countless of purposes the device could give. She pondered if she can make them less ostentatious, less bulky, more covert. Maybe her father can help her with that. Consequently, she wondered if she can use them for other things besides counter-harassing Jeanne. Then within a flash of a second, something sparked in her.

Pushing herself up from the carpet, she grabbed her headphones. Sliding it over her ears, she snapped her fingers to check its noise-cancelling properties. Then pulling the jack and plugged it in on her watch. Turning the crown clockwise, she activated the amplifier. Afterwards, she turned the crown again counterclockwise to activate JARVIS. A blue line glowed on the black matted surface and after the startup, she leaned close to it and spoke, "JARVIS, how can I track the frequencies of a violin?"

_The violin has four specific frequencies. The G3 has 196 Hz, the D4 has 293.7 Hz, the A4 has 440 Hz and the E5 note has 659.3 Hz frequency. Shall I set the amplifier to these specifications?_

"Yes, thanks," Darcy responded, looking at the watch change its interface. The audio waves that showed JARVIS' speech began to fade on to black carbon fiber background, glowing dimly. Then two aquamarine arcs faded on to the surface. The arcs move as JARVIS changed the setting of her headphones. After finally adjusting the frequency to match a violin's, Darcy waited for a sign. Silence. The girl grimaced.

_The microphone, Ms. Lewis, only has a capacity of 500 feet. I suggest we do a little reconnaissance of the building to improve results. _

Nodding to herself, she gathered her things and marched towards the exit. Waving goodbye to Stan, she left the library with a mission.

Find Alex Mayr.

She figured that if he won't come and attack her, why not go and find him herself. She calculated that she'll have more advantage to the situation, popping in without a warning. As she sauntered around the third floor, she thought of ways of confronting the guy.

Darcy could threaten him using her father's power. Maybe ship him somewhere in Timbuktu.

_No, that's cruel. _She thought.

Maybe she should break his violin into pieces as a sign of superiority. Hit him where it hurts the most.

_Again, brutally cruel… _She peered into the doors of the music rooms, thinking that the music genius would naturally be in there, practicing. But found no one.

Maybe she could hack into his room and plant speakers that could play the Macarena all day long.

_That's too much of a hassle. _She scowled. The boy she was looking for weren't in any of the music rooms and she was hearing no hints of a violin playing. Scratching her head in aggravation, she decided to move up a floor and see if she could hear anything. Climbing the stairs towards the fourth floor, she slowly realized. The fourth floor was for science and math, there was no way a musical prodigy would spend his free period n this floor. No one would… except for her. She even recalled her friend, Ivy's, completely hatred for math. It was apparently Ivy's weakest subject, the strongest being art. After failing the first math test of year last week, Darcy encouraged Ivy to study with her. She looked for many ways to correlate math to art, so Ivy can get a better understanding of the subject. Skipping the fourth floor, she continued stepping up the stairs while grinning to herself. She'd do anything for her first friend.

Then suddenly, on her way up the fifth floor, she heard something zing on the back of her head. The sound was sharp, as if the sound waves just zoomed past her. She looked at her watch and saw the screen show a letter 'A.' The letter began switching to other letters, the frequency indicator going up and down like a rollercoaster as she heard more notes follow. Darcy could hear the scales of the violin go abnormally fast. The sound was incredulously crisp, and even with the quick arpeggios, each note was distinct.

Following the music, she found herself going down the steps to the fourth floor. Walking cautiously, she pressed the headphones closer to her ear to determine the source of the violin. Her heart thudded in suspense and anticipation as she made her way to an empty hallway. She looked around to see that most of the rooms weren't classrooms. Storage rooms, copy areas, offices and empty rooms composed the secluded corridor. She stepped in close to each door, seeing if the sound would grow louder. As she jumped from door to door, getting warmer to her target, she realized that the music was giving her goosebumps. The hairs on arms stood and chills flooded her spine. She had to give the guy props. His music is unbelievably flawless.

After checking six doors, she stopped her tracks in front of a storage room. A bronze plaque labeled the room as storage for math textbooks and other resources. Pressing her left ear very gently on the wood, she listened to hear any significant volume change. And she did. Throwing a fist in the air, she whispered, "Yeah!" in victory. She slid the headphones off and put it around her neck. Surprisingly, she didn't hear the music when she took off the amplifier. She put on the headphones again to check and she could hear the arpeggios again. Then she took them off one last time and smirked, "This guy soundproofed the room… Clever."

Reaching for the metal knob, she prudently checked if the door was open. To her luck, the knob slowly rotated open. Making sure the door doesn't creak; she gradually pushed the door back, millimeter by millimeter. The music began to reach her ears as she opened enough space to enter. Throwing another fist in the air, she smiled widely. She found Alex Mayr.

The room was extraordinarily small. Darcy felt that she could develop claustrophobia if she stayed inside the room any longer than necessary. Shutting the door surreptitiously, she found herself surrounded with stacks and stacks of math books. The entire four walls were covered by bookshelves, all contained countless of textbooks. Even the floor had boxes full of them, not much making a walking space. She looked behind her to see the back of the storage room covered entirely with egg cartons. She examined the wall closely, finding three layers of egg crates stacked on to each other. Two layers were made of foam, then surfaced with cardboard ones. She also scanned the room finding that every piece of the wall that weren't covered with books to be painstakingly covered with skillfully arranged egg crates. If she didn't hate the guy so much, maybe she'd give him a high five for ingenuity.

Hiding herself behind a tall stack of books, she moved her head to the right to see the source of the music. Alex was playing in front of the room's only window, his back facing her. Darcy computed that the guy was intensely into playing. His spine was ramrod straight like a ruler. But the ruler was softly swaying with the music, the bow smoothly gliding over the seemingly shining violin. The instrument scintillated with utter elegance and poise as the sunlight from the window glistened over it. She patiently waited for the song to stop, sliding down to the floor to sit. She hugged her knees and leaned her chin on top of them. She closed her eyes with her lips distorting to a frown. She had to admit, his music was incredibly, absolutely, exceedingly, eminently good. Jeanne was right. 'Awesome' doesn't cut it when describing the music she was hearing.

As the last vibrato stretched to an end, she heard him sigh. She loudly sighed back, her eyes still shut.

"I don't like you," she muttered loudly, just so he can hear her. After a stagnant pause, he answered back, voice low and monotonous. "How did you find me?" he asked.

Darcy didn't stand or move to face him. She merely took off the headphones around her neck and hung it on fingers to her right. "Noise-amplifying headphones." She stated coolly.

Another pause flooded the room, before he spoke again, "Neat. Did you make that?" Darcy found no trace of interest in his voice. It was very annoying.

"Yup," she answered stoically, "I can even change the frequencies and stuff…"

"Why did you need to find me?" he sat on a small pile of books and took out a small box of rosin.

"To see if your music lived up to its name…" she grumbled.

"And?" he asked emotionlessly while he ran the rosin up and down his bow.

"To be honest, your music annoyed me," she stated resignedly, slowly opening her eyes. Then with straight apathy she said, "Yes, your music annoyed me. It annoyed me because it was good. It was _too_ good. Too good for its own good. Indescribably good. Annoyingly good. When I first heard the first part, you played it so solemnly. Solemnly means sadly, if you don't know. The beginning was slow and emotional. I had a mission, you know? I was gonna come in here and confront you, but then when I was walking in the hallway, with your violin ringing in my ears… I have to tell you I almost cried. That violin was overflowing with feelings. Then it got really fast and my heart beat with it. I even had goosebumps! I never have goosebumps! Then it got really soft and slow again but not sad anymore, almost happy and relaxing. Then it got fast again! But happy fast not angry fast, you know? I smiled at the end, if it makes you feel better. You're supposed me to make hate you, why are you making me smile. Yea that's why I hated your music. It made me hear heaven…. It was like heavens gates opened in my ears. Did I mention I hate you?" she said in one single breath. She found herself hyperventilating in her place. She groaned loudly and dropped her face on her knees, completely aggravated. She hated it when she rambled. It kept her from getting a point across. She wanted to be the confident one in the room. The superior one. The stronger one. But after that embarrassing moment, she was probably way down the emotional hierarchy. Alex Mayr knows she's the daughter of the famous Tony Stark and she completely made a fool of herself. If she couldn't confront him about it, she could've at least acted like a Stark. GAAH_! _She screamed inside.

"I won't tell anyone." She heard. Her neck snapped back right up, eyes widening in shock. "What?"

"I won't tell anyone about your secret." Darcy quickly put her headphones over her ears and turned on the amplifier. His words echoed through her brain like a tolling bell. Can she trust him?

"I don't hate you or anything," he sighed, "I don't really like you either. I don't care."

Darcy winced slightly. The phrase kind of hurt. Deep inside, she was somehow disappointed that she was the only one playing the game. The feelings were unrequited. Then she realized that all those days moping around, worried that he might spill her secret were a complete waste of time. The emotional outburst didn't have any point. Groaning again, she was irritated at herself.

"You're really not telling anyone?" she asked, making sure. She slowly stood and tilted her to look at him. He didn't look back, only focused on finishing one last coat of rosin. He merely nodded, still apathetic to the situation. Then Darcy slowly stepped out of the shadows, timid. She bit her lower lip as she took another step towards.

Alex stopped applying rosin on his bow, and mindlessly placed it inside his violin case. After shutting the case close, he turned his attention to the girl standing in front him. Darcy didn't say anything, and continued to stare. Silence flooded the room. Then she held out her right hand in front of her. The boy raised his eyebrow at her, puzzled.

Darcy then flashed him a gentle smile. If he held that much indifference to her secret, then there was no problem in trying to get to know him better. He gave an aloof air, stoic as his main façade. Her hand still suspended in air, she said, "Hi! I didn't introduce myself yet. I'm Darcy. Darcy Lewis. Special Star."

Seventy-five percent of her was expecting him to slap her hand away or maybe turn away with cold indifference. The rest hoped he'd take her hand.

Darcy could feel her arm cramping as she stood there with her hand out. With the silence that enveloped the room, she pondered how she would confidently go out of the room. After being humiliated like that, she didn't know how she would exactly muster confidence. She looked up at the ceiling and exhaled noisily. "This is so embarrassing, I don't know how to describe it," she groaned, "Was this how Jeanne felt when I put whipped cream on her chair?" she asked the ceiling. Giving up, she dropped her hand.

Well she thought she did.

A warm sensation encased her hand, saving it from falling. Darcy immediately dropped her head to face forward. Her mouth opened in astonishment. Slowly shaking it, the boy in front of her, smiled weakly.

"Alexander. Alexander Meyer." He muttered, and then he took his hand away and pushed it through his pocket, "Now tell me how you just prank Jeanne Delattre…

* * *

"You should've seen her face when I kept hugging her!" she exclaimed, "She kept saying get off me, get off me!" Darcy laughed loudly, sitting down in front of the stacks of books she was hiding in before. She crossed her legs and made herself comfortable. She had spent ten minutes explaining her past encounters with Jeanne. She didn't know why but when he asked about her pranks she just started telling it to him, no questions asked. His face was still wearing the same apathetic mask, but there was a speck of interest in his eyes. That alone made Darcy ramble about her tricks, attempting to spark more attention from him.

"So it's not Alex Mayr. You're not Austrian?" Darcy asked curiously. The boy only sighed in response. "Jeanne made that up…"

She looked at him, confused. "Aren't you two close? She always brags about you and stuff. Is that a nickname of something?"

He shook his head, "No, I only met her once."

"WHAT?" she shrieked, then quickly apologized when she saw Alex wince in irritation, "Explain."

Alex explained that he only met Jeanne when he was asked by the French ambassador to play for her birthday. Darcy deduced that somehow in that supercilious brain of hers concocted a fantasy that her prince charming was playing the violin for her and they fell in love. Alex was a full-blooded Austrian, hailing from Salzburg. He told Darcy that his mother was a concert cellist and his father was a music journalist. Their love story was awe-inspiring if they didn't separate when Alex was only 3. The father went off to travel the world to review more music and his mother sent him to a boarding school. She immediately thought of Tony. She have heard from her Uncle Rhodey that Tony was also sent to a boarding school. Tony didn't like boarding school. Maybe Alex feels the same.

"I've been trying to avoid her," he pointed out.

"Yeah I can see that. Can I give you a high-five for the soundproofing?" Darcy raised her palm up.

"No." he remarked. Her hand dropped. "This place is too small. And the temperature changes a lot; it's bad for my violin."

"You like playing that much, huh?" Darcy grinned.

"As much as I don't like Jeanne." Darcy's lips rounded to an 'o', feeling the burn of the insult. He really didn't like Jeanne. He called her clingy and annoying and for an 8-year old to say that, Jeanne must really be…_something. _Darcy shook her head resignedly. She was contented with the level of awkwardness between her and the boy. She wouldn't want to get on his bad side. The conversation turned to a stop and silence again filled the cramped room. Darcy checked her watch and saw that there's only twenty minutes for the period. She grabbed and bag pack and stood up. Clapping her hands to get his attention, she grinned, "Let's go find you a better room,"

* * *

"Alex Meyer, meet Stan the Library Man. Stan meet the Alex the other Special One," Darcy giggled. Alex stood beside her, hands inside his pockets and his violin case on his back. Stan leaned on his desk to look at the kid beside Darcy. He adjusted his golden colored sunglasses and put on a judging look. His white scruffy moustache wiggled, condescendingly looking up and down.

"You think you're so cool that you never had the nerve to come to the library, huh kid?" he huffed. Alex didn't answer. He only furrowed his eyebrows. Darcy noticed his irritation.

"Oh, he certainly has the attitude…" he breathed out, then turned to Darcy with a smile, "What do you need, Ms. Darcy?"

"I'm going to show Alex the restricted area." Darcy beamed, "I was wondering if he could have a key too…"

"I don't know about that, Darcy," Stan smirked, "I don't like the kid." Alex glowered at his remark, and Stan playfully glared back, "Look at you, boy. Can't even take a joke. Does sunshine make you angry?"

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?" Darcy pouted, "He needs a room to practice his violin and isn't the room soundproofed? Pretty please? I'll ask my mom to bring more mocha pastries."

Stan raised his eyebrow at her, "From Paris Baguette?"

"With less sugar, and more mocha," Darcy nodded. The old man put on a tender grin and nodded, "I'll see what I can do then, Darcy." The little girl squealed in delight, jumping up and down. After shouting her gratitude to Stan, she took Alex's hand and started pulling him towards the restricted area. The boy tried to free himself, protesting that he could walk by himself but unluckily to him, Darcy busied herself by rambling about how great the restricted area was and how he would love it. She still talked aimlessly even after reaching the mahogany doors of the room, truly excited. Taking out an old rusted key from her pocket, she unlocked the door and opened it with great energy. The boy was about to step inside himself, but Darcy forced him in again. Darcy grinned at the sight of his eyes widening a little awed by the grandiose library. Within a second, he recoiled back to his cool, aloof composure and set his violin down at the desk.

"You can come here anytime you want to play," Darcy blabbed, "I always here 2nd period, lunch, and after school. If you want the key just come and stop by Room 109, or ask Stan to open it. If I'm not there, then I'm here. Just knock two times and I'll open it. Maybe I'll give the key to you. Just give it to Stan when you come out. Also, sometimes my friend Ivy comes here, don't worry she's allowed, she's my friend. She's an artist, you know that? When she's not here, she paints in the art room. Oh, oh and most of the time I come here to read or work on my inventions. Yeah, I make stuff, like these headphones. Don't worry I won't be loud. I can't use a blowtorch anyway. Dad said no. Mom says I'm not old enough. Hey, do you want to play now? That's cool. You can play. The room is soundproof. Also I think the temperature is pretty stable in here. The school has to if they want to preserve the books, so you can keep your violin here if you want. You can also stay for another period because my English class is going here so yeah, it's cool."

"You're a loser." Alex stated, sighing almost in hopelessness, "You talk too much." He turned around to open his violin case. He rolled his eyes in disgust as he heard Darcy barked that it was going to be so much fun. The girl was too energetic for him. Too lively. He was used to quiet, the serenity. But then again, he was showed this room. And she was not entirely stupid and clingy, like Jeanne. Darcy was kind of normal… like a child.

Before Darcy could defend herself with a witty remark, a distant ringing sound emanated from the doors. The girl quickly put her bag pack on and walked towards him. She dug her hand into her pockets and grabbed something. Alex only observed as she placed the key on to the red velvet lining of his case.

"I have to go and meet up with Ivy for English. I'll be back though. Here's the key, don't lose it. I'll be outside, so when you're done, give it to me, okay?"

She huffed at him when she received no response and just turned away to exit.

* * *

"Okay, children, for this week I want you to pick any book in the library and do a small report on it. Title, setting, characters, plot, you know it. We'll be here all week so use your time wisely," Ms. Brodie clapped her hands to cue the children to move. Jeanne and her friends who sat on the center of the library began to scour the fantasy section of the area. Ivy was about to go towards the art history section when she noticed Darcy sit still on her seat. Her azure eyes stared blankly at the air, brows knitted calculatingly. Ivy waved her hand in front of Darcy's face to snap her back to reality.

"Darcy, Darcy," Ivy called, "What's wrong?" Darcy shook her head to retract away from her reverie and smiled weakly, "I just don't know what book to pick."

"I'm going to find a book about Impressionist art; do you want to come with me?" Ivy offered but Darcy gently declined, "You go. I'll ask if Stan had a book to recommend."

Ivy nodded and sauntered towards the library's art section. Darcy looked around to see other children crowding around fairytale books. She paced slowly to approach the crowd and tip-toed to peer through the books. Her view suddenly changed a pair of bright blue eyes stared at her. She flipped her blonde hair and raised an eyebrow haughtily at her. Darcy immediately took a step back to completely see Jeanne's pretentious expression.

"What are you doing here?" Jeanne asked angrily, "You're not allowed here,"

Darcy's nose twitched in irritation. "Ms. Brodie said we can use any book we want. I want to read a fantasy book. Please move."

"No, go away, nerd." Jeanne spat. Darcy became quite accustomed to the term that Jeanne called her. Apparently, Jeanne wasn't intelligent enough to remember her name and replaced it with 'nerd'. She wondered if she was exposing other people too much of her intelligence. After all she had been flaunting her engineering book around for awhile.

"What? I can't read a fantasy book?" Darcy growled. "Move, _princess." _

She groaned inwardly. She meant it as an insult. Her Uncle Rhodey sometimes calls Tony that and she was pretty sure it was used as an insult. But unfortunately for her, Jeanne somehow twisted it to a compliment. Pleasingly smirking at her, Jeanne mused, "Go away, _nerd."_

Darcy clenched her fist, attempting to hold herself from breaking into an outburst. After one last glare sent to the French girl, she muttered daringly, "_Tu es pourrie-gâtée," _and walked angrily away. Darcy could feel Jeanne's jaw drop at her remark. She patted herself in the back for reading more into the French language. French insults, specifically. Part of her was cheering for the remarkable comeback, thinking 'You are spoiled rotten,' had more impact in Jeanne's language. Part of her was regretting it. She just wanted to read a book; she didn't mean to insult anybody. Part of her wanted to have come up of a better comeback. But most of the things were learned were not exactly 'kid-friendly.'

Pouting, she dragged herself towards Stan's desk and lazily rested her chin on the wood. The old man didn't look up from cataloguing new books, and just asked, "Can I help you, Ms. Darcy?"

"I can't find a book…" she grumbled, "I wanted to read a fantasy book,"

Stan looked up , surprised. Then all of the sudden, they hear a bloodcurdling noise from behind yelling 'NERD!' . Darcy grinned as she heard Ms. Brodie reprimand Jeanne then pouted again.

"You finished the Gordon book?" Stan asked, grinning. The little girl nodded. "Do you want another material science reference? We have lots."

"No, I want to read a normal book. Reading another engineering book is weird," she sighed sadly, resting her cheek on the desk. Stan noticed that Darcy was getting affected by her classmate's sneering remarks. She has tried to ignore them all, even counteract them but in the end she still didn't like being an outcast. Darcy was contented with being with Ivy maybe even Alex if he opened to her but sometimes she'd want a day where no one would call her a nerd or a freak. Stan sighed and thought for awhile. After a moment of silence he grinned.

"Do you want to read a fable? I have a good one lying around. It's a classic too," Stan offered, poking her. Darcy looked up with bored eyes, "I already read _Aesop's fables_, even _Charlotte's Web_." But the man just shook his head knowingly. Without a warning, he ducked his head under his desk to pull out a big cardboard box. Darcy just watched him scramble through the books in the box, eye flickering with curiosity. "You see the book is about a farm filled with barn animals." Stan called out below, still rummaging, "They are neglected by their owner, mistreated. So the pigs decided to rebel and take over the farm. Oh, here we go, I found it." He sat up straight and took out a small book and placed it in front of Darcy. The girl watched as Stan took out his handkerchief to wipe the dust away from the cover. "Pigs are pretty smart, animals, you know?" Stan smirked, pushing the book towards Darcy, "Read it and come here if you have any questions."

Darcy held the book in front of her and examined the cover. Gray marble texture surrounded a yellow rectangle. On the center was a black and white crude drawing of a pig. Darcy knitted her eyebrows and asked, "This doesn't look like a children's book, Stan,"

"Just read it, dear. Trust me, it's a good read. You'll be able to write a lot about it." He laughed, "Go find a chair and start. I'm going to go gather books about twentieth century Russia."

Before Darcy could ask why he needed to find books about Russia, he was already gone. Eyes narrowing in suspicion, she read the title slowly.

"George Orwell… _Animal Farm?"_

* * *

Darcy only got up to the second chapter when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She liked the book so far, it was interesting to see pigs plan an uprising against humans. To see how the lesser kinds finally stand up for themselves against the overbearing superior ones was biting. She read how the pigs yearned for a better life supported by freedom and equality. She felt that there were more things to this novel. Maybe she'd ask Stan later and discuss. She looked around and spotted everyone engrossed in their own book of choice. Her eyebrows twitched up as she noticed Jeanne reading _Cinderella_. She wanted to laugh at the sight of the dreamy-eyed spoiled brat, eyes milky of juvenile fantasy. Jeanne was more of the conniving step-sister instead of an innocent girl. Then she saw Ivy sitting across her, jotting down notes about Claude Monet, enthralled. She felt another tap, harden than first one. Did she sense irritation?

Twisting her head to glare at the perpetrator, she almost gasped. Alex was behind her, one hand holding his violin case and one hand gripping a key. He glowered at her, indicating that he wanted her to not say anything. After all, Jeanne was in the same room. He didn't want any further attention.

"What, Alex?" Darcy whispered. Alex didn't say anything and just nudged the key to her. Darcy was forced to take it, "You don't need it, anymore? You can still use it. Just give it to Stan in the end," Darcy shoved back the key to his hand. Alex scowled and forced the key back. Unbeknownst to the class, the two Special Stars were having a who-gets-the-key war.

"Hey, Darcy. I don't understand this word, '_eshew' _ or is it 'e_schoo_'… cashew?" Ivy asked suddenly. The two of them froze, afraid that they have been found out. But to their relief, Ivy didn't look up, she continued with her notes. Darcy quickly stated, "You mean eschew? It's mean to avoid." Ivy muttered thanks and proceeded to write. Sighing in relief, she turned to Alex and shoved back the key, "You can have it," she hissed. Aggravated, Alex tossed the key back to her, and immediately spun on his heels to go to the library exit. Darcy didn't have the enough reflexes to catch the key, and just watched as the key gets tossed down towards her desk. She closed her eyes and waited until a large clunking sound reverberated through the room. Both Darcy and Alex stayed rigidly still. The loud clang that the metal made with the wood woke everyone up from their silent reading, heads turning to find the source of the sound. Darcy smiled nervously at the crowd and slowly reached for the key. She prayed that no one would notice Alex walking out but…

"Alex!" Jeanne yelled, standing up from her seat. The class stared at him for second, still grasping the situation. Darcy dropped her head onto the desk, burying her face onto the sallow pages of her book. She groaned inwardly as she heard Jeanne pushing the seats away to go to Alex. The class just watched as Jeanne flung her hair and smiled at him. "Are you going to play for me again?"

Ivy made a gagging noise making Darcy laugh in her seat. But both of them were shushed when Jeanne and Alex glared. Alex wanted to leave immediately. Irritated, he was, knowing that just an hour after coming out of a year of hiding from her, he finds himself trapped in the same room as her. He needs to find another hiding spot. Not saying anything, he walked back to Darcy and held his out his hand, "Key."

Darcy looked at him incredulously and asserted, "No. You just threw it at me."

"Key." He repeated. Jeanne gawked at them, surprised that Alex was talking to other people besides her. Darcy scowled, "I don't like you." Grabbing the key from the desk, she angrily shoved it in Alex's hand. Without saying anything, he ignored the other people in the room and made his way towards the exit. Jeanne called him to come back but heard no reply. Darcy groaned and ran towards the exit. Sticking her head out of the door she called out, "I better have that key by lunch!"

Looking on at his disappearing figure, she huffed loudly. Turning around she hoped to go back to reading but instead angry blue eyes stared at her. Her head jerked back, fazed by Jeanne's furious expression. "Can I help you..?"

"You." Jeanne narrowed her eyes.

"Me." Darcy replied. "What about me?"

"You're friends with Alex?" she hissed, crossing her arms across her uniform.

"I don't think so. I just yelled that I don't like him…" Darcy pointed out. She moved her gaze sideways, peeping to see Ivy. Her eyebrows knitted asking for her help. Ivy quickly advanced by her friends' size. "Back off, Jeanne," she warned while adjusting her glasses.

"Go away." Jeanne growled, angry eyes turned to Ivy. Darcy gulped as she watched the two exchanges an electrifying staring contest. Honestly, where was Ms. Brodie?

"Darcy's my friend. Leave her alone!" Ivy yelled. Darcy peeped at her watch, seeing there is only thirty seconds left in the period. Jeanne pulled and hissed. The two waited for her to shout something incoherent and mean but the French girl just stayed silent. Darcy saw to it as a sign of defeat. But her paranoid side whispered in her brain that she was plotting something. She smiled weakly, tugging Ivy's uniform. The school bell rang and she slowly pulled Ivy out of the library. Jeanne just stood in the entrance, eyebrows raised up, watching the two leave. The other kids leave the library, awestruck by the drama. After the minute, she was left there by the doors, flanked by her two friends.

"Carlie," she called out an auburn-haired girl behind her. "Yeah, Jeanne?" her friend asked.

"Your mother owns Saks Fifth Avenue, right?" she smirked. Carlie just stared back, puzzled. "Yeah…?"

"You're going to call your mom tonight and you're going to tell her that you're being bullied by Ivy Nguyen."

* * *

_Looking back at it now, she believed it was bound to happen. She knew it. As she read the last chapter of her book, it was confirmed. In due time, the brightest of them all will inevitably dim to nothing but darkness._

* * *

A/N: _Animal Farm _by George Orwell... a well known political science novel :wink:

and Alex was playing Monti's _Csardas_ if anyone was curious.


	12. Bouillabaisse Soup

**Bouillabaisse Soup**

_August 15, 2001_

"Spill it," he remarked while he sipped his cup of coffee, "Spill it now while Pepper is talking with Happy," Darcy looked at him in disbelief, choking on the cheesecake she was chewing, "I don't know what you're talking about, Dad."

"Sure you do," Tony pursued, "Come on tell me. It's not good to bottle things up for a year. Is it a year?"

"It's my grades, isn't it? I'll do better this year, don't worry." She said, looking away to escape her father's piercing stare.

"Darcy, we all know that you're the worst liar in the universe, so stop it." Tony knew Darcy hasn't gotten anything under a 100 average in school, "Come on, spill it. I've been waiting."

Darcy looked down and stayed quiet for awhile. Tony waited patiently for her. He knows it had been hard. "Almost four years…"Darcy exhaled, biting her lip. A rush of warmth began to rise up inside her, waiting to turn into tears. She didn't want to cry. She shouldn't cry. "How did you know...?"

"Honey, I'm your father. I know everything." He stated, scratching his head, "I'll tell you one thing, though. I'm pretty sure those four years is not worse than this wig I'm wearing. Honestly, blond is not my color."

The little girl grinned weakly at her father's appearance, trying to forget about her sadness. He sat uncomfortably on the café seat, clad only in a black t-shirt and dark navy denim pants. He wore darkly tinted sunglasses and a sun-streaked wig to cover his real identity. The family returned to New York that day after Darcy's summer vacation. After unpacking and fixing her dorm, the three took a stroll around the city and rested for afternoon snacks in a café in Midtown. Darcy moved her gaze behind Tony to look through the glass walls, seeing Pepper outside, clad in a white v-neck and jeans and a long straight light blonde wig, on the phone. "You guys make me look adopted." Darcy joked.

"Well, any shade darker than this I'd look like Tony Stark," he smirked. Darcy smiled flatly at him and took another bite of her cheesecake, "Mm, Dad, I love the smell of this bakery. How does that coffee smell?"

"Like they're trying to change the subject." He immediately countered, making Darcy pout, "Besides you're too young for coffee."

Darcy groaned loudly, sticking another piece of her cheesecake in to her fork. She chewed loudly as she grumbled, "I guess JARVIS told you?" she asked angrily.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, darling. That's not very ladylike." Tony jeered, "And the guy tells me everything."

"What happened to privacy?" she pointed at him with her fork.

"What happened to father-daughter bonding time?" Tony spat back, "Come on, Darcy, just tell me. You're already keeping a big secret, why would you burden yourself with another one. Tell me, and maybe I can help… or would you rather have me tell Pepper about this and she can talk to you?"

Her eyes widened at his remark. She would not want Pepper to hear about it. She was sure that Pepper would not stop crying if she finds out. Sighing in defeat, she took one last bite of her cheesecake and gulped down her milk tea. "Promise you won't tell anyone?" she breathed out, closing her eyes. She has been keeping it inside for so long, she doesn't know to exactly let it out.

"I also promise to not burn this wig into pieces after this day. Just talk to Papa." Darcy sighed again and leaned back to her chair to get comfortable. After all, it was a long story.

"I lost a friend..." Darcy squeaked, fiddling her thumbs together, "My only friend..."

In the span of twenty minutes, she reported her past years. After the incident in the library, somehow Ivy began to slowly drift away from her. Four days, she stayed in her dorm, reported that she has caught the flu. Darcy wanted to visit her but Ms. Brodie strongly opposed the idea, saying that she did not want any more students to get sick. She waited patiently for her to get better. She read the book that Stan recommended quietly in her table in the back or sometimes in the library while Alex played the violin. She expected to see Jeanne attack her at that time, when she was alone but even the French brat drifted away from her. She'd want to make a conversation with Alex but sometimes he was too engrossed in playing or was just too mean to be friendly. Darcy then told Tony that a week after that, Ivy came back. She was ready to greet her in homeroom with wide open arms but stopped halfway when she saw her friend swerve right to sit with Jeanne. She was flabbergasted, utter shocked at the sight.

"I tried talking to her but sometimes Jeanne's friends would block me or Jeanne herself." Darcy commented, inhaling deeply. Tony just listened with calculating eyes. She continued her tale and said that Ivy no longer visited the restricted area or even ate lunch with her. She'd try to get her alone but she was always laughing with Jeanne and the others. The one day she could not take it anymore and she resorted to use JARVIS to find out what was wrong.

"I asked JARVIS one night about Ivy and searched if anything bad happened..." Darcy muttered, "Apparently, one of Jeanne's friend's mom owns this big store..."

"Which one?" Tony turned around to check if Pepper was still in the phone, "Macy's?"

"Saks Fifth Avenue," Darcy replied.

"Fancy," he commented, "Rich people shop there."

"Where do you shop, Dad?" she sneered.

"I do not shop, my daughter," he chuckled, "All my clothes are either tailored or ordered by Pepper. Anyway continue."

"Yeah, so possibly, one of the Jeanne's friends called her rich mom and told them that they were getting bullied... by Ivy. Do all kids lie like that?" she mumbled, "The mom called Ivy's parents and threatened to close down the boutique that Ivy's mom runs and replaced it with their store. Ivy's mom got really scared and called Ivy. Stan told me that Ivy was sent home for a couple days and used the flu as a cover..." She continued to tell that Ivy was forced by her parents to befriend the people she 'bullied' to save the mom's job. "Jeanne also told Ivy to not talk to me anymore and to enforce that condition she promised that she won't tell her dad, the French Ambassador, that she was getting 'bullied' too..."

"So now you're all alone." Tony pointed out, "No friends, whatsoever. Social outcast?"

"Yes, Dad. I'm now a social outcast." she scowled. Her father leaned closer and sighed, "Darcy, I have to tell you that I have had the fair share of experience with bullies and control freaks..."

"Really?" she stared in disbelief. Tony merely nodded. "You see... when someone does something like this, you find a way to fight back. Stand up for yourself. Don't fight fire with fire. Don't fight with water, either. Fight it with liquid nitrogen."

"Are you telling me to freeze Jeanne and the others?" Darcy smirked, "As pleasing as that sounds but I don't really want to hurt them. I just want Ivy to be free from them. Even if I can't be her friend anymore."

The two stayed quiet for a second, thinking. "Dad, they're targeting me, right?" Darcy realized, "Not Ivy."

"That's what you told me. Baby, I'm this close to trying one of my new tanks on these people. Or use one my jets to ship them to Siberia."

Darcy grinned at his remark, "I was thinking... If it's me who they want, why not bring Ivy away from them? Away from me?"

"We're shipping her to Siberia?"

"No, Daddy. That's not nice. I mean there's this school, she mentioned once. She said it was her mother's second choice after BIS. Marymount School, I think."

"Giving a generous grant from Stark Industries?" Tony smirked, catching the gist of things. "Are you sure you'd want to send your friend away?"

"Let's make that grant anonymous." Darcy smiled, "And yeah I'm sure. At least she doesn't have to be forced into being friends with unlikable people. I've been researching the school-

"You've been researching?" Tony repeated, his tone tainted slightly with surprise.

"Yeah, I've been researching it. It's an all-girls school. Very small but it looks very prestigious. And it is near the Metropolitan Museum. I think she'd love that."

Tony flashed a proud smile to his daughter. Such a noble act for someone so young, he was sure that she didn't inherit that from him. _Meredith?_ "Okay, then. I'll tell Pepper about that later. Don't worry I won't tell her about the whole social outcast thing. Wouldn't want to get that blonde wig to itch even more..."

"Really?" Darcy flashed a huge smile, the biggest one he'd seen for awhile. "You're the best, Daddy!" she beamed at him. "That's what Forbes said." he smirked then frowned, "How come you've never bothered to tell us about this? I thought we had a communication thing going here."

"Because I know you're going to plan to harass the French Ambassador sooner or later. And Daddy, please don't."

"Oh come on, I was just going to throw a little punch here and there... maybe some missiles..." he muttered, "Moving on, I think it's time that I become a Dad in this conversation and reprimand you for not telling us anything. Should I be like Pepper and say 'Don't ever do that again, young lady' or 'You're grounded for life!" he said while putting on a stern face mockingly.

"Daddy!" Darcy giggled. Tony playfully continued to maintain the severity of his expression and huffed, "You better do well in school or I'll send you to military school." Darcy laughed loudly, snorting a little bit. Tony grinned a little at the sight of his laughing daughter. She finally looked like she was genuinely happy.

"What are you two laughing about now?" someone interrupted. The two turned their heads to see Pepper standing beside the table, eyes narrowing in suspicion and hands resting on her hips. Darcy laughed more, chortling like a little child. Pepper grinned and took a seat in between them. She looked down at her table and gasped, "Wait, what happened to my cheesecake?" Darcy threw her hand over her mouth to try to cover more giggles. Tony smirked widely and calmly dug his hand to get something from his pockets. Opening his black leather wallet, he took a gleaming black card and slid it across the table. Darcy caught instinctively and wondered why her father just handed her one of his debit cards. "Go buy another slice for yourself and your mother." The little girl grinned and slid off her seat to go get another slice. The two adults looked on, sharing a moment of silence and waited until Darcy was busy picking a cake.

"So..." Pepper started sheepishly, "Did she talk?"

"I told you she'd talk to me..." Tony sneered, "You should believe in me more often…"

"I don't get it," she buried her face on her palms, "We'd talk about everything. But she never talks about how she's all alone. She keeps telling me that she always plays with her friend, Ivy and that she's getting along with her classmates. Why is she keeping this from us? Am I being a bad mother? Tell me, Tony, is it my parenting? Doesn't she trust me?" she stammered. Tony just sipped his cup and sighed.

"It's because you always act like that." he pointed.

"Like what?" she glared through hands.

"You act all worried and mopey. Then you cry. It's disconcerting."

"But I am worried, Tony!" Pepper hissed.

"And she'll feel that it's her fault that you're like... this," Tony waved his hand in front of her, "She'll start blaming herself, then next thing you know she'll be out every night partying."

"She's only turning eleven this year, Tony. Don't say that." she glowered, "Oh god, she's turning eleven this year. Eleven, Tony, eleven!"

"Oh calm yourself, Pepper. Just trust her, she'll be fine. She's smart enough. All we have to do is to be there for her anytime, anywhere."

"Since when did you become so heartfelt and supportive?" Pepper smiled weakly. Tony Stark rarely says fervid things like that. It feels nice yet unusual. "_That's_ disconcerting."

"Please, I'm a lovable man." He said bluntly, and then his smile flattened as he took out his phone. Pepper watched him as he tapped incessantly on the phone's screen. "Hey, do you know what time French people eat dinner?"

* * *

Darcy tapped her foot as she waited patiently in line to order. She smiled to herself widely. Finally, she can breathe a little easier. Ever since the incident with Ivy, she felt the slight scarcity of oxygen, of relief. She didn't mind the silence and the solitude brought upon her suddenly by Jeanne's schemes. One day, she knows she'll get used with being alone. But she was more worried over how people are getting hurt because of her. She had noticed Ivy's smiles falter to fake, plastic ones as she laughed forcefully with Jeanne and her minions. Darcy would also notice that Ivy stopped carrying her sketchbook around anymore. She didn't have enough knowledge if her friend gave up art to save her mom's career. She recalled all the flashes of guilt slowly blanketing her body as she sees Ivy follow Jeanne around. She was with the people who shine the most and yet she was always shadowed by inferiority. But now, after talking to her all-powerful father, Ivy can be in a better place with better people. She always believed that money isn't always everything. Pepper brought her up that way but now she was willingly to make an exception.

She played with her braids as she looked on the person in front of her pick a cake. The lady looked frail and confused as she peered over the glass, eyes darting up and down and sideways, not sure which pastry to buy. People behind Darcy began to hiss impatiently, wanting the woman to choose already. The old woman scratched her long thin black tresses, streaked with silvery shining hair, still deciding.

"Do you have any preferences, ma'am?" Darcy asked, politely offering help, "Vanilla? Fruit? Chocolate?"

The lady almost jumped in her place, surprised by Darcy. She looked down to see the little girl looking at her with aquamarine blue eyes. "Oh I'm sorry, darling. I'm too slow, aren't I? Oh dear… these cakes… all of them just look absolutely delicious!"

Darcy grinned at how the lady was acting like a young child, enthralled by cakes, "Is it for an occasion?"

"Oh yes, today is my boy's birthday. I was buying some groceries when I saw this bakery and I thought I'd get the cake from here and now looking at them, I just don't know which one!" the lady laughed softly. Darcy couldn't help but laugh back. The woman in front of her just looked so gentle and nice. Are all grandmas like that?

"I go to this bakery a lot so maybe I can help!" Darcy chirped, "Does he like chocolate or vanilla?"

The lady looked up pondering, then cheered, "Oh he loves chocolate… and strawberries!"

"How about caffeine?" she suggested but the woman just shook her head, "No he's only turning 15 today, I don't want him on caffeine yet. Such a healthy boy, he is."

"Okay, then I got just the right cake," Darcy flashed a grin. Inching close to the old lady, she pushed her gaze towards the gaze. She slightly smelled the sweet aroma of flowers from the lady's dress. It was somewhat calming. Pointing at two cakes, she smiled, "You can either get the Chocolate Strawberry Cake or… the 3rd Special, chocolate everything with less strawberries,"

The lady examined the two cakes in front of her for a minute then pulled back, "I'll get the Chocolate Strawberry one then. It's good enough for me, my husband and my nephew," she said, asking for an attendant to get the cake for her. Darcy also proceeded to get two slices of the same cake and went with the lady to decorate the cake. The clerk asked if she wanted to include a message on the cake. Darcy took the liberty of peering into the cake and watched the clerk write the message on a piece of chocolate. She smiled happily after seeing the lady's name and the message. She tugged at the woman's sleeves and beamed, "I have to go now to my Mom and Dad."

"Oh, okay," the lady smiled gently at her. Grabbing both of her hands, she said truthfully, "I couldn't have done this without you, sweet child."

"My name's Darcy! Darcy Lewis!" she showed a toothy smile.

"Thank you, Darcy," the old woman crooned.

"No problem! I hope Petey likes the cake, Aunt May!" she yelled as she sauntered back to her table.

* * *

"So where are we going now?" Darcy asked happily, holding her mother's hand as they walked on the sidewalks of Manhattan, "Can we go to Central Park again? Maybe the Museum of Natural History? They have butterflies this month, I wanna go!" she chirped.

"We are going back to the school, sweetie. We still have to unpack some of the boxes," Pepper told her. They stop at a curb and she raised her hand to call a cab, "We'll go to the park tomorrow, okay? Your father has business to do."

Darcy nodded and noticed Tony frown, "Uh, no Pep. Cabs are filthy."

She ignored him and continued to wag her fingers to stop one of the yellow cars. "You're not Tony Stark right now, remember? Normal people ride cabs."

A bright yellow car swerves to their direction, halting at the curb in front of them. Pepper opened the door and went in. "20 Waterside Plaza, please." she said to the driver. Darcy followed then Tony. The little girl wiggled her shoulders to get comfortable in between the adults and smiled. Pepper instinctively put her arm around her girl and used her free one to grab her PDA from her purse. "Your tuxedo will be waiting for you in the MetLife Building." She stated nonchalantly.

"Tuxedo?" Darcy asked curiously, "You guys are going to a party?"

"Just me," Tony replied, "And it's a formal dinner. Where is it Pep?"

"Alain Ducasse at the St. Regis Hotel. East 55th Street. Happy wants to know if you want the Maranello or the 456 GT?" she asked, still tapping on her PDA.

"Neither. I want the Vanquish." he said coolly.

"But you don't have an Aston Martin," Pepper countered.

"Then buy one." he simply said, flinging his head to view the moving streets of New York. Pepper sighed loudly and reached for her phone to dial. Darcy grinned at her father's carefree attitude. "You're having French for dinner, Dad?"

"Some duck l'orange, maybe bouillabaisse?" he asked her, raising his eyebrows. Darcy giggled loudly, "I love that word! Can you bring some home for me and Mom?"

Tony patted her head endearingly muttering, ''Sure, baby.''

Pepper was still on the phone when she decided to give Tony a hard look, unbeknownst to Darcy. He caught her gaze and raised a brow at her. She was about to open her mouth but the car abruptly halted, arriving at the school campus. Pepper took out a couple of bills from her wallet and gave it to the driver. The three slid off the car and went inside the school's compound. She reached to stroke Darcy's hair. Smiling gently, "Honey, you go ahead and open your room. We'll be right behind you." Darcy nodded and skipped towards the dormitories' doors. Waiting until she was far enough, Pepper and Tony began to walk again. Breaking the silence, Tony mused, "Do you want me to bring you some caviar? Foie gras?" Pepper froze in her place and huffed loudly. She inched close to Tony, placing a grim expression on her face.

"Don't even bother coming back to her dorm drunk, Tony." she commanded, grey eyes growing darker with blatant austerity. "I know you're doing this for Darcy but please control yourself. I don't want to see your face in the headlines tomorrow morning saying that you crashed the French Ambassador's dinner and hung him upside down!"

Tony did not show any sign of emotion, his face completely unfazed. He was actually amused, in fact. The way Pepper turns all serious and angry at him was utterly entertaining to him. "It's a school night, Pepper. I'll just mess with him a little."

She groaned loudly, turning away to resume walking. "I'm calling Happy to come with you, and you better be outside this school by 10."

"Fine, Mother..." he smirked.

* * *

"Why didn't you go with Dad?" Darcy asked as she flops on white comforters of her bed. Pepper just smiled weakly at her as she folded the last batch of her clothes into her cabinet. She knew she could have gone with Tony. She wanted to see what kind of people the parents are to raise a child like Jeanne. Hearing the story from Tony and JARVIS tore her heart in two. Remembering the unforeseen message from the AI four years ago, reporting that Darcy is being harassed by girls, stripped of a friend and left to suffer alone. She still felt that gut-wrenching sensation churning in her stomach, as if butterflies were replaced by thundering tornadoes. Her mind contained whirlpools of guilt and continued to agitate into remorse when Darcy never brought it up when she goes home back to Malibu or call her. Even when she hinted it in their conversations Darcy would only evade the subject or cleverly answer.

"_How's school, Darce? How's your friend Ivy?" _Pepper remembered her first call with her daughter after finding out the news.

"_Oh I'm fine, Ma. I got a 100 on my science test today! My friend Ivy got an 80 though but I think she'll get better… How's Dad…?"_

Moreover, she became angrier with herself. After Tony had told her of Darcy's plan of granting Ivy a scholarship to a better school, she realized something. She was so overwhelmed with sadness of the thought of her daughter being bullied, pitying her almost, that she never saw Darcy's way of coping with it. She never saw how Darcy maintained a cool composure about it. She never saw how her daughter masked herself with a strong façade, and remained tough without seeking help from anyone. Darcy took the burden to herself and sought the solution using her own power. She didn't notice that her daughter have already started maturing.

"Oh, I think your father can handle himself. He's a grown man after all," she said while pushing the drawers close. She pushed herself down next to Darcy and smiled. She also knew that if she came with him, she might unleash ungodly mother fury on the French Ambassador.

"So…" Pepper started, "…Marymount School?"

* * *

"Remind me again why we're going to this restaurant again?" Happy grumbled as he pulled over in front of the restaurant. After a moment of silence, he looked back to the back, expecting Tony to get off the car, "What are you waiting for?"

Not caring to answering, Tony raised his left hand to check the time. He released an impatient sigh while he reached for his phone. Tapping a small blue button on the device, he spoke, "What time you say the guy eats dinner again?"

"_Precisely at 8:15, sir. It is 8:16, I suggest we wait for a few minutes until Mr. Delattre and his family have sat down to order." _A disembodied voice chimed in on the miniscule speakers of the phone. Happy just watched him Stark hates waiting.

"_May I also add that he has reserved the dinner with the Defense Attaché of the Embassy." _JARVIS warned him. Now Tony couldn't wait.

"Ah! Bruno, lucky me," he chuckled. Happy looked at him questioningly. "What do you have against the Defense Attaché?" Happy inquired.

"It's what I did_ for_ him," Tony smirked. Before Happy could ask any further questions, Tony pushed the car door open. He strutted past the golden doors of the restaurant while fixing his silk blue tie. He held his chin up with cool indifference, stopping in front of a golden podium. Behind the pedestal stood a light ash blonde haired woman, dressed in a black formal suit. She didn't look up from writing on her folder and greeted him with feigned enthusiasm.

"Welcome to Adour, home of Alain Ducasse exquisite cuisine. Have you placed a reservation?" she recited, tapping her pen onto the folder impatiently waiting for her guest to answer. Tony raised his eyebrow at the young woman's definition of good hosting. He was about to answer, when Happy pushed the door, panting. "Geez, Stark! Don't run off like that. I haven't even given the car to the valet yet!"

"Don't destroy the Vanquish, Happy. It's new," he replied nonchalantly, not caring to turn around to look at his friend. He maintained his focus on the woman's and apparently the restaurant's reaction when Happy yelled out his name. The woman snapped her head up immediately, dull brown eyes widened at the sight of him. She stuttered miserably, gulping, "T-Tony… S-S-t-t-ark…?

Tony removed the sunglasses from his eyes, aloofly staring at the woman. "I don't remember this restaurant having bad service, Happy." He said quite loudly, "What happened?"

Happy opened his mouth to reply but once again cut off when a much older woman appeared next to the stuttering woman. Platinum hair was tied tightly into a bun revealing her pallid countenance. The cold demeanor she displayed was almost identical to Pepper's when she first started working with Tony. A thick French accent resonated from her throat as she hissed callously at the girl, "I don't recall teaching you to treat guests this way, Ms. Montez," she clenched her teeth to prevent any hint of anger to escape, "Please show yourself the way back to the kitchen."

Tony watched as girl nodded in fear, dropping her head in shame as she walked back to the kitchen. The older woman elegantly moved towards behind the podium, muttering a few curses quietly. Then she flashed him a wide smile, Tony described it almost unnatural. "_Bienvenue, Monsieur Stark. _My name is Cornélie Darville and I am tonight's maitre d'hôtel. The restaurant apologizes deeply for the inconvenience. We also apologize for forgetting Ms. Pott's reservation and-"

"Save your breath, Cruella De Vil, Pepper didn't call." Tony coolly stated. Not minding the maitre d'hôtel's astounded feedback, he turned to her left and smirked.

"Tony? Tony Stark? Is that you?" someone chirped behind her. She turned to see a lanky man clad in a dark suit. His face, close-shaven, thin and sallow, was shaded by a great quantity of graying hair brushed around his head and parted up at the side. A pretentious smile greeted Tony and an ashen hand reached for him. "It's nice to see you again, Bruno," he accosted, shaking his hand.

"Ah, Mr. Stark, this is a formal place. It's Mr. Caitucoli to you," he smiled frivolously, "Are you having dinner here? Great, come sit with me and my colleagues," he barked, then laughed more as he noticed, "Harold Hogan? Is that you? I've seen you with Tony a lot. Bruno Caitucoli, _enchantée!_"

Happy grinned sheepishly, and went to shake the man's hand, "It's a pleasure, General." The man nodded, then turned to the woman, "Madame Darville, please add two more seats to my table for my guests here." The woman immediately dashed off, clapping her hands to call some waitresses. As their table was being modified, the man gestured the two to walk with him slowly. Leaning close to whisper, Tony murmured, "How's Genevieve, Bruno?"

"Genevieve is wonderful," the man laughed inwardly, "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have met her. I owe you a lot, Tony." The two men chuckled together as they made their way to their table. The restaurant was dimly lit, providing an air of somber sophistication, the perfect semblance of French fine dining. Carmine red carpet absorbed Tony's steps; his black suit glowed lightly with the copper yellow bauble lights on the walls. Happy noticed the restaurant's prominent wine collection, all accumulated inside a lighted niche. He could also hear the people whisper around them as they see Tony Stark made way to the private east bank of the establishment. Stopping in front of a rectangular table, two people rose up to meet him. Tony wanted to laugh at how well-groomed the two people were. The man donned an off-black suit, adorned with red silk tie. Dark, graying hair covered his head neatly combed. He adjusted his metal framed glasses to greet Tony. "This is the French Ambassador, Monsieur Francois Delattre. Francois, meet Mr. Tony Stark." Tony shook his hand and turned towards his wife. Perfectly blonde hair curled into an elegant chignon framed her aquiline face. She wore a deep ruby velvet shawl collar dress, matched with red-stained lips. "Please, call me Rosalie," she said, laced with a thick French accent.

"Rosalie, enchantée," Tony said flirtatiously, gripping her hand softly, and bent down to kiss it gently. The woman quietly giggled in her place, earning quite a look from her husband. After the introductions were made, the couple sat across Bruno, Tony and Happy. As Tony sat down, Happy whispered, "Who's Genevieve?"

"2000. Hannover, Germany. Brought her to the World's Fair. Old man couldn't keep his eyes off her, so I hooked them up." Tony muttered, "Two months later, they married."

"You're the Brigadier General's _matchmaker_?" Happy whispered. Tony didn't answer.

A waiter came to their table and placed the two their menus on their table. "_Bonsoir, Monsieur," _the waiter said so eloquently. He waited for a few minutes for the two to choose then, "_Vous avez choisi?"_

"_Ah, oui," _Tony said coolly, "_Je voudrais le saumon et le canard, s'il vous plait. __Bien cuit," _he then snapped his menu close and took Happy's. "Harold will have the foie gras and the tenderloin."

The waiter nodded obediently, jotting the orders down on his notepad. "_Les bois_?"

"Pinot Noir Grand Cru." He demanded. The General inched close to whisper to Tony as the waiter took their menus, "Not too much wine, Tony. The guy can't hold his liquor," referring to the man across them. Tony didn't say anything. He just patted his back and smirked.

* * *

"So Mr. Stark," the ambassador started while he scored his knifed into his steak, "How is business?"

"Tony, please," Tony corrected him, "Defense contracts, microchips for nuclear centrifuges, telecoms, missile guidance systems, drones… you know, usual stuff."

"You sound so confident with your war machines, Tony, _non_?" Rosalie said, her accent almost gave it a sultry tone. Her electrifying blue eyes stared directly at him as she sipped her wine.

"Those _are_ my creations," Tony stated, raising his glass to tap with hers, "Rosalie."

The woman laughed so alluringly that it sparked attention from her husband. Happy noticed his hands clenched tightly on his fork and knife, chewing a little harder as Tony and her wife talked and laughed together more. Judging how Tony was acting with the ambassador's wife and the ambassador's reactions, Happy knew the night won't end well.

"If you care to answer, Mr. Stark-

"Come on, Frank. Call me Tony. And yes I do care," Tony interrupted, earning a giggle from Mrs. Delattre. The man's eyes began to darken into a stern stare but Tony chose to pay no mind to it.

"Please, do not call me Frank. That is not my name," Delattre clarified calmly.

"Call me Tony, then," He mockingly answered. Then he pulled the wine bottle besides Happy and poured more in his glass, "Would you like some wine, _Francois?"_

"I do not drink, _Tony_," grunted the man, pushing the bottle away. Tony was about to set down the wine when a pale hand tapped his hand. Holding her glass elegantly, she smiled, "Please pour me some."

The table shared a few moments of awkward silence. Happy thought that he could hear a pin drop on the carpet judging how uncomfortable the silence was. He noticed Tony still ate with his usual indifference, occasionally jabbed with piercing stares from Mr. Delattre when Tony makes eye-contact with his wife. After they have finished the main course, the people ordered coffee for everyone, and more wine for him. He laughed with the General, catching up with stories and talking about defense contracts. Their conversation turned into a halt when a waiter graciously appears besides Bruno, bending down to whisper at his ear. The General nodded and reached for his napkin. "I'm afraid that I must go. Genevieve is outside waiting for me," he said gruffly, while dabbing the napkin on his lips. Everyone stood up as the General slid off his seat. He shook the ambassador's hands and kissed his wife's cheek. "Pleasure to eat with you all. Tony, Harold," he nodded, while shaking the hands of the two. "Till next time, Bruno," Tony said. After watching the man leave, the rest sat again. Tony reached for his glass to sip, when he noticed the man in front of him show a dignified smirk. He raised his eyebrows at him, amused.

"So, Tony," Delattre said, stirring his cup with a spoon, "Are you a family man?"

Happy apologized for choking on his coffee. The man was hinting a challenge. "Do I look like I'm married, Francois?" Tony simply answered, staring blankly at him. The ambassador chuckled, "I apologize. I was just wondering… with all that power, I am surprised that you don't have anyone to share it with. It must be quite lonely to come home in that big mansion of yours, without a wife or a son or daughter."

"Well, I have Jarvis, my butler." Tony aloofly said. "There's Pepper, and Happy."

"You have a butler?" Rosalie chimed in, "How… classy…"

"Yeah, he's a Brit." He replied, then turning to Francois, "Are _you_ a family man, Mr. Ambassador?"

The man's smirk began to widen at his remark. Not answering, he stood up, "To answer your question, Mr. Stark. I want you to meet my pearl…" raising his arm to gesture him to turn around. Tony followed his gaze and found a little girl, around the same height as Darcy, walking fast towards him. Light blond waves bounced lightly as she jumped to hug the man. The girl yelled out, "Papa!" and hopped on seat in between the mother and the father. The ambassador stroked her hair endearingly, still smirking at Tony, "Tony, this is my daughter, Jeanne. _Cherie, il s'appelle Tony Stark." _The girl smiled sweetly at Happy and Tony, curtsying with her purple satin dress.

"How was your day of shopping, _cherie_?" Rosalie asked her daughter, "Did you and Genevieve had fun?" The three started conversing In French. Happy looked at them confusedly, but Tony didn't just care. He inched in closer to him, whispering, "Tony, is this the kid who bullied Darcy?"

Tony didn't answer, as always. He just stared at the family calculatingly. Deep inside, something didn't feel right. A sinking feeling enveloped his chest, tugging it down as the family before him laugh and smile. It wasn't envy, he was sure of it. Was it vexation, perhaps?

Yes, he was annoyed. He was annoyed at them. He was annoyed at himself. He was annoyed that he will never have a moment like that. He was annoyed with the fact that he had all the power in the world and yet he couldn't take his own daughter to a fancy restaurant like this. He was only able to bring her to a small bakery down in Midtown. Also, Darcy couldn't flaunt a dress like that around the city. She only wore normal t-shirts and jeans. He was a Stark. She was a Stark. They had all the money in the world. Why couldn't they do such a simple thing? The irony was killing him.

"Do you know?" someone said, breaking him out of his reverie. He looked up to see Francois Delattre sneering at him again, "Jeanne, here, goes to the British International School." Tony saw the girl put her chin up proudly, eyes brimming with arrogance. "I am a three-star. Best of them all."

"Is that the highest?" Tony asked, face stoic and blank. The way her nose twitched in annoyance amused him. He knew that she knew that she wasn't. "No. The highest one is the Special-star. But it's very rare," she pouted, "Only smart people are Special-stars."

"Are you saying you're not smart?" asked Tony bluntly. The girl looked like she was about to retort when her father stopped her with his hand. "I was reported that only children wit high IQs are Special-Stars." He intervened.

"Are you saying your daughter has a low IQ?" Tony said, reaching for the wine bottle to refill his glass. He just earned a glare from the Ambassador.

"Please stop twisting my words, Mr. Stark," he hissed. Tony ignored him and turned his attention towards his wife. Rosalie Delattre was leaning back languidly on the cushion of the wall. Her blue eyes were hazy and a mindless grin was plastered on her red lips as she flimsily held her glass. Tony offered her more wine and she obtusely giggled yes. Happy could see it. Mrs. Delattre was drunk.

"Would you like some wine, Francois?" Tony asked, pointing the bottle at him.

"As I have mentioned before, Mr. Stark, I do not drink," the man sternly declined. Another soft giggle came from the inebriated woman, her pale arms reached for the her husband's shoulder and brushed it slowly, "Dear… please. This is the best wine I've tasted."

"Yes, dear Francois," Tony added, taking the bottle and poured it in an empty glass, "Have a little sip."

"I told you—

"This is the restaurant's best wine. Your country's best wine. What kind of French ambassador are you if you don't even like French wine?" Tony said, almost vociferously. It was loud enough for the waiters around to hear him. Conscious of the whispers and murmurs from other people in the restaurant, the man angrily chugged the glass in front of him. After a victorious sigh, he snatched the bottle away from Tony's hand and poured more in his glass. After drinking his third glass, he breathed out, "I represent beautiful France to you Americans with all my being. Do not question it."

"Whatever, Frank," Tony shrugged, leaning back to his seat. The Ambassador took another long swig of his glass and barked, "My name is not Frank!"

Tony ignored him and swerved his gaze upon Mrs. Delattre. Fixing his tie, he stared at her intently. Happy recognized that gesture. Tony was in flirting mode. "Did I mention how you look utterly exquisite in that dress… Rosalie?" Tony stated. His words were blunt and cool pulling the woman closer to him. Her eyes flickered at him ready to seduce. "You almost look… oh what's the word—Single?"

Happy took the cue, and excused himself out of the table. He hurriedly made his way towards the exit. As the woman released an enticing laugh, Tony pulled back to dodge a punch coming from his left. He heard Rosalie gasped loudly as the Ambassador stood up rashly and went to make a strike at Tony. He took another chug of his wine, and loosened his tie. Tony didn't say or do anything.

"Do you think you are so powerful, _Stark_?!" bellowed the man, "You dare to make a move on my wife!?"

"Hey, easy there Frank, you know we're in a—

"DO NOT CALL ME FRANK!" the man yelled.

"I was just complimenting your—" Tony went to look at the wife… and she's passed out.

"_NIQUE TA MERE!" _the man cried, throwing his glass at him. Tony had enough knowledge of the colorful language of France and he was sure that French Ambassador just wildly swore inside a famous French restaurant. Ducking, he snapped his fingers and calmly called out a waiter, "Uh, _Garcon_, I think Mr. Delattre here had a bit too much to drink."

Five waiters came out and threw themselves towards the rampaging man. Tony watched him indifferently from his seat as he flailed his arms around, causing some of the glassware to fall. He heard more people gasped behind him as the Ambassador threw more curses. He heard Jeanne shriek loudly when her father accidentally hit a bowl of Tony's bouillabaisse and splashing it over her beautiful satin dress and hair. He waited until the maitre d'hôtel tapped him on the shoulder. The seemingly cold woman from before had frightened eyes in shock and horror.

"Your car is waiting for you outside. We advise that you leave immediately. We had no knowledge that the Ambassador had low alcohol tolerance. The restaurant deeply, deeply apologize for this, Mr. Stark. We wish that you don't think of Adour any differently than before." The woman rambled.

"I suggest you bring the wife and child home or something. Pepper will come back to pay for the damages. Okay, goodnight." Tony said nonchalantly, "And oh yeah, she'll also come to pick a hot new bowl of bouillabaisse tomorrow. Clean up the soggy child too. Thank you." The woman nodded and called for more men to calm down Mr. Delattre. Taking one last gulp of his glass, he bid the family goodbye. He noticed Jeanne was with her mother, trying to wake her up.

Slowly stepping backwards to exit, he waved goodbye to the raging man. "_Au revoir, _Frank!"

* * *

Darcy inhaled a long, deep breath. It was her fifth first-day of school. She was now in Year 7, or Grade 6. She stared blankly at the dark wooden door in front of her. She knew that behind that door welcomes another year under the reigning arrogance of Jeanne Delattre. Even after knowing that her father ate dinner with her dad, the Ambassador, and somehow got back at him, she knew that Jeanne will still flaunt of big head around like a queen. She wasn't nervous of the upcoming curriculum, she was just annoyed that she'll still be in the same class as her.

Exhaling loudly, she pushed the door open. As usual, no one noticed her come in. Everyone was too engrossed in catching up with each other. She gripped her watch tightly, her daily ritual to muster some confidence to walk proudly to the back of the classroom. She sat on the far reaches of the classroom, only reserved for social outcasts like her and just observed. Observing people became one of her pastimes, she took as one of many great advantages of being invisible to other people's eyes. She took out her newly improved stealth headphones and attached it surreptitiously in her watch. She turned the crown clockwise to turn on the amplifier. She listened from her place quietly. Someone went to Paris. A vacation to Aruba. Scuba-diving in the Great Reef. Skiing in the Alps. A shopping spree in Milan. She grumbled softly to herself. What did she do? Spent all summer working on new prototypes and reading more books. She didn't even have a tan. She was still pale as ever.

Mumbling angrily to herself, she slid her headphones off and took out a book to read. She has a new 'non-science' book to add to her collections. Ignoring the incessant chatter around herself, she opened her book and resumed intriguing herself with Sun Tzu's _Art of War_. She didn't know why but studying about the behavior of the state, the political intricacies and anomalies, and interstate perspectives captivated her somehow. It was a whole new complex world of science, different from the ramifications of engineering and physics. It proved her a distraction from reality, regressing her back the deep voids of the past—the history.

And she was about fall into her own world of the _Art of War_, when a familiar voice rang loudly in her head. Like shattering bells, it was shrill and high, coated with its usual layer of arrogance and pride.

"I had a great time spending the summer in Belgium. The waffles are amazing!" Jeanne exclaimed from the center of the classroom. It sounded as if she was speaking to everyone, but Darcy could feel her haughty stare piercing her. Without straying from reading her book, she mindlessly commented, "That's wonderful, Jeanne! _Trés merveilleux!" _Sarcasm was best cover for guileless cynicism.

"Oh, Darcy! I didn't notice you were there!" Darcy could her smirk from miles away, "It's nice to see you again."

"I wish I could say the same, my dear Jeanne," she aloofly replied. Jeanne growled inwardly at her but Darcy didn't care to notice. Unsatisfied with not coming up with a wittier comeback, Jeanne dished out another story.

"You know, Darcy, I had dinner with the great Tony Stark!" she sneered, "I met him in Alain Ducasse's Adour restaurant in New York!"

Still not looking up, "Oh my god. No way. You're so cool, Jeanne. So cool," she said with feigned enthusiasm, angering Jeanne.

"Isn't he your nerd god or something? I thought he was great first, being rich and all. But he doesn't talk much. Papa was more powerful than him." Jeanne added, "Oh I just realized! You two are so alike! Both of you are so quiet. Both of you are losers! Ha! Yes! You two should be best friends and make little nerdy robots together! "

Everybody turned quiet, halting their own small conversations and looked at Darcy for her reaction. Darcy didn't say anything at first, ignoring Jeanne and her annoying voice. She didn't even mind her verbal attacks to her. But when someone even tries to debase her father's name, insult him by calling him a loser, or underestimate his power, Darcy knew she shouldn't hold back.

She clenched the covers of her book with great intensity to vent her anger quietly. Then with strong tranquility, she slowly placed the book on her desk and closed it gently. She reached for headphones and put it around her neck. Before placing the device over her ear, she turned to stare emotionlessly at Jeanne. With the cool indifference she inherited from her father, she said calmly, "You know what? Maybe I will be best friends with him. And maybe we can go to Adour and have dinner there and have wine together. Because I know that the _great _French Ambassador you call your father and you and your mother are banned from the restaurant _for life. _That was a great story by the way Jeanne. Seeing the drunken French Ambassador flail wildly in a prestigious French restaurant in the headlines was utterly _priceless_." Before she could witness Mt. Jeanne erupt, she added, "Oh and I've been there. The bouillabaisse is out-of-this-world. I'm sure you think so too, judging from your pictures." Smirking, she placed the headphones over her ears and turned on the noise-cancelling feature.

* * *

A/N: **Never, ever say "Nique ta mere' to a French person.** I learned that the hard way... and I make an awesome bouillabaisse :D


	13. Smile

**Smile**

_You must hold the copper ribbon in a forty-five degree angle to—_

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Darcy murmured, "I've taken things apart before, JARVIS. I know how to do it."

_I am aware of that, Ms. Darcy. But you are holding it five degrees higher._

Darcy narrowed her eyes at the device and examined it. Her arm was propped uncomfortably on the glass table, making her raiser her hand higher. An angry sigh reverberated throughout her small workshop. If she tugged the ribbon at fifty degrees, a piece of the hard drive would have been torn off.

It was a normal Friday for Darcy. After the 6:30 dinner downstairs, she would do her homework first. Tackling homework was never a problem for her. It would be always done after one hour or less. After that, she would go inside her mock-up workshop, Tony had prepared for her in a small closet space. It was nothing grandiose like Tony Stark's but it'll do for minor tinkering or the occasional computer programming lessons from JARVIS. Tony himself worked on the room. Prussian blue metallic plates covered the walls, insulated with soundproofing materials to approach a more industrial look. Charcoal gray tiles masked the floor. The room is lined with long black glass tables, topped with 3 set of extended monitors, a laptop and electronic gadgets Darcy and Tony had made. Four 40-inch plasma screens were mounted on the walls, perfect for multitasking. All electronics were all programmed with JARVIS, courtesy of the CEO of Stark Industries. On the opposite wall, three chalkboards are set up on top of each other for occasional calculations or notes. It was the perfect room for her. She can use the room for whatever she wants. Working on new projects is a breeze with all the state-of-the-art tools she has been provided. Learning about programming is easier with all the Stark tech her father made. And video-chatting with her parents is unlimited. It was where she can finally be Darcy Stark.

And Darcy Stark loves music like every other person in the world. She grew up with all kinds. From the thrashing booms of rock to the mellifluous subtlety of an orchestra, she'll listen to anything. Pepper's wistful hums of lullabies would echo in her bedroom when she goes to sleep. The vociferous riffs of the guitar would always fill her ears when she goes to her father's lab. Happy would even sing the mellifluous oldies when he drives her around. Classic rock and ear thumping beats would boom out of her speakers when she works on something, a quirk she inherited from Tony. Listening to music reminds her of her true home… her true identity.

Now, she'll be able to be Darcy Stark anywhere and anytime she wants with her brand new iPod. When she listens through her white earphones gives her the vicarious nostalgia that reminds her of home. When the new product was announced in October, she recalled immediately calling Pepper to get it for her. Her mother was quite surprised when Darcy called for something she wants. Darcy never wanted something so… normal. She never had the propensity to ask for Barbie dolls or new clothes like most girls. Five terabyte hard drives or maybe pneumatic screwdrivers were usually her common needs. Thus when Darcy asked her if she can get the hyped iPod, squealing like a normal girl, Pepper couldn't refuse. Five days later, she immediately opened the sleek white box that was left on her doorstep and marveled at her new toy.

Darcy felt like she was betraying her father a little bit, wanting something not of Stark Industries. Tony Stark's inventions were the most wanted of all in the world. His technology was the personification of ingenious pioneering. She knew Tony would be able to make a portable music player in a blink of an eye if she asked for it. Something even better perhaps. But owning an mp3 player made by Stark Industries, a world-renowned weapons manufacturing empire, it would clearly raise suspicion.

Therefore to make up with that little inconvenience, Darcy made the decision to take apart her new iPod and modify to make it genuinely her own. Some people would find it unethical to change someone's creation but Darcy thought of it another way. She was merely adding her own touch to it, adding some minor adjustments. A little bit of Stark wouldn't hurt, right?

Crossing her legs on her stool, she took a small piece of flat metal to wedge the iPod open. She ignored the little voice in her head telling her that changing the Apple hard drive and operating system would make it not an Apple product anymore.

"Okay, the hard drive's out," she mumbled as she pulled the copper ribbons that held hard drive to the device, "How's the new hard drive, JARVIS?"

_The modified hard drive will finish upgrading in 10 minutes and 22 seconds. _

Darcy looked up to view one of her monitors. Upgrade was only at 64%. Not minding the wait, she went ahead and pulled a ribbon tag that holds the screen in place. She reached for her #00 Phillips screwdriver and used it on the screw around the iPod. The white plastic frame popped off leaving the off-white cover casing and the LCD screen.

_Replacing the screen, ma'am?_

"Yep. I want to replace this dinky blank and white screen with a high-technology display substrate," she murmured while taking the screen off, "I got some engineered sheet glass here to do it." She picked up a thin clear glass from her right and placed it on the device.

_The alkali-aluminosilicate glass you are referring to should be the main component of Mr. Stark's ion-exchanged monitors. Should I ask where you exactly acquired this glass, ma'am?_

"Don't worry about it," Darcy mumbled as she screwed the plastic case back and inserted the copper ribbon back to the silicon chips. Her eyes darted up and down the device, eyes piercing with scrutiny. She pulled her lamp close to read some of the fine writing on the battery above the circuit board.

"What is this?!" Darcy exclaimed loudly, "The battery is only 750mAH! Why is it so low!?"

_Longer battery life is quite difficult to achieve in this generation, Ms. Darcy. I suggest waiting for ten more years to improve battery power. _

"But there are batteries with 1700mAH already. Dad made it!" she yelled, "I feel ripped off now! Mom was ripped off!"

_Voice complaint recorded and sent to Mr. Tony Stark. I will notify you if he responses. _

Blue eyes widened blankly at the blue monitors. "I'm not complaining!" Darcy yelled at her computer.

_Please do not yell. My speakers are very sensitive._

"Since when did you get so sassy?! Did Dad update you again?" she bellowed angrily, "And I am not yelling!"

_The increase in decibel of your voice is highly significant. If that is not yelling, I cannot compute what is. _

"Great, now Dad will think I ask for too much. Thanks JARVIS." She loudly grumbled, "And he won't answer, he's probably in a meeting or something."

_In reality, ma'am, Mr. Stark has replied that he'll send you a compacted size of a 2000mAH battery as soon as possible. He also said that, if I say verbatim, that you "Show Steve Jobs how it's done."_

Darcy sighed, fighting back a smile. She always feel guilty when she feels she asked for something extreme but that is always overcome when Tony advances ahead and goes crazy with her requests. If Darcy asked for cake, he'll get it from France. If she wanted a long-lasting battery, he'll invent a new one. Her father always goes a million steps ahead. He'll do anything for his only daughter.

"Tell Daddy, 'I love you and thank you' and also say that I'm already kicking Steve Jobs' butt." Darcy grinned, "And sorry for yelling, JARVIS. I love you too."

_Mr. Stark replied, "I know." And I accept your apology, Ms. Darcy. _

Darcy faced the computer and showed him a huge pout, "No 'I love you' back, JARVIS? Now I'm sad."

_The hard drive has also finished upgrading. It is ready to be installed._

Her frown deepened then she nodded. She then pulled out the hard drive from her computer. She carefully placed it over the circuit board and attached it again with new copper ribbons. She smirked as she snapped the back cover back, perfectly sandwiching the new hard drive inside. While holding the power button to turn it on, she reached for her earphones. She plugged the earphones into her ears as she watched the new screen glow into a familiar aquamarine blue orb. It was official. She just made the universe's one-and-only JARVIS iPod.

_It saddens me, Ms. Darcy, to see you frown because of me. Ergo, may I advise you to press 'play'?_

Darcy knitted her eyebrows in confusion. She didn't really expect a response to her remark. It was almost rhetorical in some way. But hearing the AI unit's statement, she obeyed and pressed the play button.

A familiar deep voice echoed through her ears. Looking at the screen to read the title, she smiled the biggest smile. Tony would always sing this to her.

_Now Playing_

_Charlie Chaplin_

_Smile_

* * *

With one quick push, she slid herself outside her workshop into her bedroom. Darcy twirled herself in her stool, encumbered with boredom. She did her homework already and used her iPod. She grumbled as she only got to listen through ten songs in her iPod before the battery died. Apparently, a 750mAH battery can't handle a new JARVIS-programmed hard drive unit.

"I'm bored!" she called out as threw herself on her bed.

_Reading a novel would suffice, Ms. Darcy._

"I read _The Leviathan _already. I'd have to go back to Stan tomorrow or something." She grumbled.

_Mr. Stark has ordered me to advise you to practice the piano from time to time. Shall I project the sheet music of the Suite you have been learning?_

"Bach?" Darcy asked sitting up.

_Bach's French Suite No. 5, to be precise. You have yet to learn Loure and Gigue movements. _

A bright screen flashed on the ceiling. Darcy looked up to see JARVIS' projections of the music sheets. She winced as screen scrolled through each incessant arpeggio and dwindling crescendos.

"That's too hard. I'll just practice the whole thing up the _Bourree_ movement." Darcy sighed. She dragged herself groggily towards her piano. She pulled her stool out and sat on it. After arranging the sheets on to the stand, she stretched her hands. She closed her eyes as let her fingers drop on the ivory keys.

The first two movements were cheerfully fast. Her fingers seemed to hop like little bunnies each second. She let herself sway with the music, closing her eyes. Darcy grinned as she recalled vague memories. She remembered the hazy moments when she first learned the piano. Since they didn't want a random person to teach her at 4, Tony took some time from work to teach her. Pepper was astonished that Tony knew how to play. Tony merely replied with, "The grand piano in the living room is not just for decoration, you know?"

Darcy smiled as she recalled the jazz musings that he would play for her. He would even sing lowly when she needed to go to sleep. His lullabies would always be so hoarse and dry, yet soothing and calming. No one knows Tony Stark sings. Not even Pepper. He sang to her and her only. It was their own little secret.

Her playing began to slow down and smooth out as she reached towards the third movement. With the soft melody, she began to remember the time when Tony—

_The grace notes are more distinct in this movement, Ms. Darcy. Also, that last measure was to be played in pianissimo not mezzo forte. _

Yup. She remembered when Tony programmed JARVIS to teach her. After she learned the basics of piano-playing, Tony went ahead to modify her grand piano. He replaced the strings with JARVIS-controlledvibration rods and added speakers on the side. The piano would play on its own, programmed with a multitude of songs, courtesy of the AI unit. Thus when little Darcy played on it and manages to make a mistake, JARVIS was there to correct her and show her how it's done. Though sometimes, a computerized piano teacher could be so overbearing.

"Noted," Darcy sighed as she rolled her eyes at the AI. But instead of playing the song slower as instructed, she pressed the keys with haste and pressure to reach the next movement more quickly.

_Your impertinence is also noted, Ms. Darcy. It would be best to continue your lesson at some other time. _

"Great!" Darcy smirked, and stopped playing. She jumped on her bed and wrapped herself with her comforters. The soft warmth emanated by the blankets felt heavenly, Darcy could stay in it forever. She let her eyelids close naturally as she sunk towards soft slumber.

_It is only 7:30 PM, Ms. Darcy. Sleeping early would disrupt your sleeping schedule. You have not even proceeded with your nightly rituals._

Darcy groaned loudly, further burying herself within the blankets. She rolled herself into a small cocoon and curled into a ball. "Can you come up with something better to do?" she scowled.

_Processing options… Shall we continue our lessons about programming languages?_

"Where am I up to?" Darcy groaned, "I don't really want to… Can I stay in bed?"

_We were up to discussing the polymorphisms of the C++ language. _

"Project, please," she mumbled through her cocoon. She shifted her body so that she can face her left wall. A whirring sound echoed through her ears as the projector swivels to face the wall. The lights slowly dimmed to darkness as JARVIS projected a screen. She listened quietly as JARVIS recited the lesson. Strings of incoherent words and combinations of letters and characters began to scroll down on her wall. She and JARVIS would always study about programming and computer science when she had nothing else to do. It was kind of their last resort as entertainment. It was nerdy and unusual but Darcy thought it was a nice way to bond with the AI.

Then suddenly, the lesson was abruptly ended when a loud thump knocked on her door. JARVIS stopped talking and Darcy sat up questioningly. She popped her head out of her makeshift cocoon and eyed straight to her door only to hear another knock. It was hesitant yet distinct.

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. It can't be Pepper or Tony. They weren't in the area and they would always call beforehand. It can't be the cleaning lady because she has no cleaning lady. Her father made her cleaning robots to ensure unwarranted people from snooping around. She tilted her head in confusion as another knock came.

It could be Alex. Darcy smiled weakly. Alex would never tell anyone her secret. It was simply because he didn't care. He only cared about how she was smart enough to make anything. She recalled the time when Darcy introduced him her noise-cancelling headphones. An awe-struck expression broke into his usual cold stoic demeanor like a broken plate. She sympathized with him and made him his own version headphones and even slipped in an electrical violin tuner she worked on. In return, she took the liberty to rant to him at times necessary. The guy would just play the violin when she rambles about something. Alex didn't mind the rants. They were amusing, especially when it involves making fun of Jeanne.

"What happened to your headphones now, Alex?!" she yelled out, too lazy to go to the door. She let herself fall on her bed again, wrapping herself in her cocoon. "Come back tomorrow! It's late!" she said loudly. Knowing Alex, Darcy expected no response from him.

But a tiny voice squeaked, "Hey, Darcy? It's not Alex. It's me"

Blue eyes widened as saucers. Darcy quickly sat up and wormed herself out of her blanket cocoon. She lost her balance, throwing herself and the blanket off the bed. Curls of her brunette hair sprawled all over the carpet as she fell. A loud thud reverberated through the room.

_Ms. Darcy?_

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" she slurred, standing up sloppily. She ran her fingers over her mussy head and over her clothes to smooth it out. She hastily pushed her blankets back to her bed and made her way towards the door only to find herself hitting one of her bookcases.

"JARVIS, lights! Turn on the lights!" she exclaimed while rubbing her forehead. The lights slowly faded on, making her realize that her secret workshop is wide open. "Stealth mode, JARVIS."

_Initializing stealth mode sequences…_

All within five seconds, two bookcases surrounding the door opening of her workshop began to whir and hum. Mechanical hydraulics was installed in each case in order to come to together and hide the workshop. As she walked towards her little hallway, the projector shut off and a rounded opaque glass descends from the ceiling and covers it to mimic a small pendant light. Four of her little cleaning robots sauntered back to their corners and powered off. Darcy stopped in front of her door and took a deep breath before reaching for the door knob.

Darcy never thought she'd see her again. "Ivy?"

* * *

"Um, sit anywhere. Make yourself comfortable." Darcy stammered. The girl in front of her took her time to view her room. Ivy didn't say anything as she stepped out of the hallway and scanned the surroundings. Darcy grinned as her friend looked around in complete astonishment. "I didn't realize you have such a nice room, Darce," Ivy breathed out, "It makes my two-star room look like a beat up hotel room. I got the basement and you have the penthouse!"

"Aw, I'm sure your room wasn't that bad. And there's nothing special about this room other than the size," she said.

"You have a view of the river!" Ivy yelled out as she stood before the life-size windows, "I only had the view of the baseball field! I wish I could've seen this sooner. We'd have so much fun here."

"Yeah, I wished that too." Darcy muttered, as she sunk herself in her black swivel chair. She immediately saw Ivy's expression to change from utter awe to unredeemable guilt. Her olive complexion turned pale. Dark eyebrows scrunched together. Ivy opened her mouth to speak but no sound escaped. She just looked back towards the view of the windows, staring sadly at the dark night. Darcy felt a rush of remorse. One phrase from her just turned the atmosphere gloom. She didn't mean to bring up bad memories. Darcy quickly looked around her room, desperate to find a new topic of conversation. She noticed that Ivy's eyes retained their almond shape. Her face was still round but slimmer. But her hair was only now reached just an inch below her thin shoulders.

"Your new hair looks pretty, Ivy," she blurted out. Ivy turned around to face her with a smile. Darcy frowned inwardly. The smile was forced.

"Paint was getting on my hair. It became annoying to clean up," she explained.

"Oh that's cool. You're doing art again," Darcy grinned, "That's good to know." She breathed a deep sigh of relief… of content… of happiness. She finally made a good decision for once. Sending her to Marymount gave Ivy freedom once again. Ivy grinned at her, nodding. Then she turned around again to further examine the room. Facing Darcy's left wall, she saw a collection of photos and frames. Four square photos were arranged geometrically on the center of the wall, lined with two rectangular ones on each side. Two photos of a woman and her child were placed diagonally to each other. The other two were clear close-ups of the woman. Ivy stared at them, speechless. The woman was very beautiful. She exuded a powerfully elegant radiance, she never saw from other people. She had the perfect, angular face shape. Dark curly hair appropriately framed her face. Her lips were immortalized in an enigmatic smile and a cheery one. Even thought the photos were black and white, Ivy noticed that the woman had very clear eyes. Ivy recognized those eyes very well.

"Is she your mom?" Ivy asked. Darcy got up from her seat and sauntered towards the other side of the room to Ivy. Darcy smiled at the pictures. "Yep, that's my mom. Her name's Meredith."

"She's very, very pretty. You have her eyes and hair." Ivy whispered, and then chuckled. "You look cute too as a baby. So chubby."

"I heard that I was premature by one month. I was really small and weak. So my mom fed me lots to fatten me up." Darcy chortled. She recalled Pepper showing her pictures of her mother and her baby self. Pepper would always tell stories about how Meredith would send her photos of the two of them each month to show Darcy's progress. The two pictures in front of her were the last ones that Meredith had sent Pepper… before her death.

"It must be really cool to work for Stark Industries. Your mom must be awesome." Ivy chirped. Darcy frowned. "Who's the woman in that picture?" Ivy pointed to one of the rectangular frames. It was a photo of a woman with long blond hair, laughing. Darcy sulked more. She didn't really know how exactly she would break it to her.

"Um," Darcy started nervously, "That's my mom… too."

Ivy turned to her, dazed and confused. She looked back to the square photos and to the large. The women did not look anyway alike. Before Ivy could ask anything, Darcy blurted out, "Well, she's not my mother, biologically. She's my legal guardian, my mom's close friend… She's the one who raised me. She's the one that works for Stark Industries."

Ivy squeaked out, "Then what happened to your real mom…?" She didn't take long enough to realize when Darcy gave her a solemn look. Quickly covering her mouth, she mumbled, "Oh my god, Darcy. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—

"No, no it's fine!" Darcy raised her hands in defense, "It happened a long time ago. Way, way back when I was a baby. I only know my real mom from stories and pictures. Don't worry, it's fine."

Ivy nodded and just looked at her sadly. Darcy turned away from her solemn gaze and looked at her pictures. One of the rectangular pictures contained four magazine covers of Tony featuring his recent achievements. Her father refused to take pictures of him wearing a blond wig so Darcy cleverly gathered all the magazine covers with him on it and posted it on her wall. Ivy followed her gaze and asked, "Why do you have pictures of Tony Stark?"

"He's my idol. You know, like my role model," Darcy smirked. She doesn't need to lie about her father's identity. She just needed to let out facts.

"Oh right," Ivy grinned, "You're a genius. Geniuses stick together." She looked down from the wall and faced an array of photo frames. "You sure have a lot of pictures with him."

"I told you. My parents work in Stark Industries." Darcy explained, "This one is my Uncle Happy and him. Uncle Happy is Tony Stark's assistant and chauffeur. He used to box too but not anymore. And this one on your right is him and Uncle Jimmy," pertaining to a picture of Rhodes, "Uncle Jim works for the army so he goes to Stark Industries a lot. And this one on your left is Uncle Happy, my mom and him. He's a cool… Tony Stark, he's funny."

"What about your dad?" Ivy asked, "You have no pictures of your dad here."

"My dad doesn't like pictures," Darcy chuckled, "Because he has this chock full of blond hair sprouting on his head. He keeps saying he looks like a golden wheat field."

The two laughed together for awhile. Talking about their parents and lives. Darcy smiled to herself. She was surprised, incredulous. There was no hint of any awkwardness. The two continued as if nothing bad happened. They were talking as if yesterday was five years ago and they just made fun of Jeanne in the library. They were talking as if they weren't separated. Everything was all right. It was the way everything should be.

Darcy jumped on her bed and looked at her friend. "How's Marymount, Ivy?" she smiled. She expected Iby to start rambling about the school, about how the people are treating her nicely and how the classes are more interesting. But Ivy just stared at her and frowned. Her dark eyebrows knitted together.

"Darcy," she started, "I want to say I'm sor—

"Heard it's a great school. You have classes in the Met right?" Darcy interrupted. She didn't want her to apologize. She had no reason to. She wasn't the one at fault.

"Darcy, let me finish. I came here to say sorry, okay?" Ivy said quickly to avoid getting cut off. Darcy just shook her head.

"For what, Vie?" she groaned, "You didn't anything wrong. I'm the one who should apologize. I'm the one who was selfish. I was the one who ticked Jeanne off. I was the one who didn't do or say anything. I just left you all alone with them to suffer." Darcy expected herself to cry. She expected tears to well up in her eyes. But it wasn't sadness that filled her system. It was anger. "If I didn't get so caught up with annoying Jeanne, she wouldn't have been angry. It was my fault that your mother got involved. Her job was threatened. Your place here was threatened. Heck, you even dropped all your art classes! And I just stayed there in the corner and watched." She was about to ramble off more when she got caught in a tight embrace. She felt Ivy's thin arms wind around her, holding her close. She felt her chest heave.

"I'm sorry, Darce, I'm so sorry." She heard Ivy sobbed, "I felt like you replaced me that day. I used to be all alone in that corner. I never really belonged. And then you came. You were so nice and funny. I never thought you'd be my friend. And then you were a Special Star, I thought that you'd start hanging out with Jeanne and the others. But no, you stayed. You stayed with me. You are such a good person you know that. I regret everything I've done. I'm so sorry."

Ivy continued to cry more. Darcy could feel her tears seeping through her shirt. She didn't say anything but just hugged her tighter every time Ivy sobbed 'I'm sorry.' The two shared a few moments of silence. Darcy wondered if she could say anything that would lighten up the room. Well, she could tell her secret to Ivy to turn the conversation around. She could tell her about how the man on her wall was not just her idol but her father. It could explain her uncommonly high intelligence quotient. It could explain how she had the power to pay for Ivy's tuition until her last year of high school. Darcy thought that it doesn't have to be a grant from an anonymous donor. She could tell Ivy that it was her all along. It was all her idea. Ivy can even meet JARVIS. That'll be a blast.

"Hey," she was to first to spoke, "Can you sleep over?"

Ivy released herself from the hug and looked at her with moistened eyes. "My mom's outside waiting. The guard still thinks I go to this school so they let me in," she sniffed.

"Call your mom. Ask her. We have lots to talk about." Ivy nodded and went to reach for phone in her pocket. Darcy waited till she got the approval.

Switching her gaze towards the moonlight view of the East River, she thought to herself. She doesn't have to tell Ivy. It was fine. She was okay with it. Telling her a secret that Tony and Pepper worked so hard to keep wasn't worth it. It was not because she doesn't trust her friend. She simply found no reason why she would spill the secret. That would destroy the purpose of it. She didn't look for any kind gratification or pleasure. Ivy might not ever find out it was her that gave her the chance to be happy but it doesn't matter. It shouldn't matter if she was a Stark or not. It only mattered that she was Darcy. And Darcy just gave someone happiness. Darcy only looked to giving happiness. Should she be Darcy Lewis or Darcy Stark or both, she only looked for the common factor. Everything is fine just as long someone is happy because of her. No more sadness, no more worries, just happiness.

* * *

oOo

* * *

_Two years later…_

Tony and Pepper were sitting in his office, just finishing up a Board of Directors meeting. After seeing the directors off, Tony just watched his secretary gather papers on the conference table. Pepper felt his gaze but didn't say anything.

"I told you I could do it," Tony jeered, "Again, you never believed in me."

"Going to a Board of Directors meeting in a hangover is not an incredible feat, Tony," Pepper rolled her eyes as she fixed the pile of papers on his desk, "_Staying up_ during the meeting would've helped."

"Come on, I was perfectly lucid," he smirked, "The old bastards seemed to think so."

"That's because you only go contradict and make of fun of them," Pepper sighed, "You're not a very good influence to your daughter. To anyone."

"Speaking of Darcy," muttered Tony, ""Remind me again why Darcy is going here alone. That is not good parenting."

"You're the one who proposed it, not me," Pepper glared at him, "You told me to cancel our flight to New York today because Obadiah came home yesterday from Afghanistan and he wanted to talk to you about new plans. You said that he'll get suspicious if you suddenly leave for New York during a Board of Directors meeting. And you specifically said that I should go order Darcy's birthday cake for the while."

"Oh right," Tony said. Pepper sighed again. She knew Tony doesn't remember. He sounded drunk when he called her about it. Tony may have the unimaginable talent of being somehow coherent when inebriated but he sure won't remember what he did the day after. She still remembers the time when he gave out a perfect lecture about integrated circuits in Bern after a bottle of scotch. Tony might have had half the decency to warn her about Obadiah but the rest of his decency was gone when he forgets about it. "Let's just wait then."

"Yeah, six hours. Darcy should be on her way to the airport."

"Great. Let's go get lunch. I didn't expect this damned meeting to go until freaking 2. I'm star-

"Tony! Tony!" someone yelled, "Pepper!"

The two turned around to hear the doors crash open. Tony sat up from his seat and exclaimed, "Happy! I've never thought I'd say this but I miss you man. Let's go get some lunch. I'm starving." It took him a while to grasp what was happening.

Happy donned his usual black suit, but no trace of cheerfulness can be found in his face. He was severely pale, his dark eyes shivering in their places. His mouth was ajar, also shaking but no words were coming out.

"Happy, what's wrong?" Pepper asked nervously. Happy started stammering.

"My… buddy… Frank… he… hospital… unconscious… doesn't… know… where…" he stuttered miserably. The two walked up to him. Pepper's face was distorted into confusion and worry. Tony just gave him a piercing stare, calculating.

"Frank? You mean the person who was supposed to drive Darcy…" Pepper whispered. She didn't need to finish her sentence when Happy gave her a pained look. She loudly gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god."

"Darcy," Happy gulped, "She never made it to the airport."

"_What?" _Tony hissed.

"Someone took Darcy, Tony. Someone took her."

* * *

A/N: To anyone who wants to see how I pictured Meredith and Darcy's dorm workshop,_ It is in my tumblr: another-stark-one under summary/chapters, in Darcy's stuff._


	14. Fighter

_Guys... I just wrote 17 thousand words for a chapter. For one freaking chapter... I wrote 37 pages... I need a hug._

* * *

**Fighter**

"I'm back, JARVIS," Darcy yelled out as she entered her room. Friday classes have just ended, marking the start of the Thanksgiving break. It has become a tradition for her to come home to Malibu every Thanksgiving break to celebrate her birthday with her parents. She loves coming home on Novembers. She'd get cake and turkey. But to her demise, the 21st fell on the same time as her last of classes. That's right. It was her birthday.

_Welcome back, Ms. Darcy. How is your birthday so far?_

Darcy didn't reply right away and just sighed. Her wild, mussy hair bounced as she hopped on to her bed. Cerulean eyes closed slowly. Nothing really big happened on her birthday. She considered it as one of the great perks of being a social outcast. "I got that wake-up call from Ma and Dad. Then the birthday tune from the cleaning robots. Thanks again, JARVIS."

_Anything for you, Ms. Darcy._

Darcy giggled. "Oh, then Stan got me this collection of famous works of Philosophes, like Rousseau, Kant and other people," she said while laying out the books on her bed, then she reached for her bag and took a miniscule violin case. "Then Alex gave me this small violin replica that he got from his recent trip from Austria. Look it plays _Eine Kleine," _she said as she wound a small knob on the back of the violin. Mozart's famous piece resonated throughout the room, "and that's it."

_That is very refreshing, ma'am. Also, I am pleased to inform you that a package was dropped off at 11:03 this morning. _

Darcy looked around to find the package and found it on top of her desk. She looked at it in confusion. _"_How did the mail guy come in?" she asked while walking towards the bag. The package was a simple brown paper bag, ornate with a white organza ribbon.

_I simply opened the door for him._

"Seeing a door open magically with no one inside must be terrifying. That's not nice, JARVIS." She chuckled. She read the card attached on the gift and read it. "It's from Ivy. '_Happy 13__th__ Birthday, Darcy! I hope this is enough to contain your genius head. I made it with my mom. I hope you like it.' _she said." A small grin crept on her face as she pulled the bag open and dug her hand inside it. A soft, warm sensation surrounded her hand as she fiddled with her gift. With one quick pull, her gift was revealed. It was a chocolate brown knitted hat. Without any hesitation, Darcy ran towards her mirror and slid it over her disheveled curly hair. It was the perfect size for her head. It was so comfortably soft and it contained her voluminous locks conveniently. She grinned as she spotted a black knitted bow on the side.

"I hope you like it, she says. No! I love this!" Darcy beamed as she swayed to look at her new beanie hat in different angles, "Ivy always know how to accessorize. Remind me to call her later to thank her."

_Certainly, Ms. Darcy… May I also remind you that you have a 5:00 flight to Malibu? Ms. Potts has sent a car to pick you up at 4. _

Darcy twisted around to look at her clock. "Oh crapballs. It's 3:30." Then she ran towards her cabinet and grabbed some clothes. "Give me ten minutes then I'll be done!"

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Am I forgetting anything?" Darcy asked as she twirled around in front of her mirror. She clad herself with deep violet sleeveless turtle neck dress that just reached above her knees. It was given to her by Pepper last year for Christmas and it was a nice change to her usual pullover hoodies and t-shirts. She wore black tights instead of denim jeans and slipped on black suede boots with one-inch heels. Instead of her usual wild mane of a hair, she brushed it briskly into neat waves that reached down just above her waist. Her hair has grown to be so long, she almost looks like a normal girl. Darcy never wears something so girly besides her school uniform. It gave her a totally different look, a completely different air. _Cool, I look like a lay-dee, _she thought. She tilted her chin up and smirked. She was giving the same radiance as her father.

_Your watch, Ms. Darcy?_

"Got it," she responded as she put her left wrist up.

_It is 41 degrees outside, ma'am. I recommend you use your cotton gabardine trench coat and a hat of your choice._

"Okay," she said as she went towards her closet space and pulled out a beige coat. She slipped it _on and reached for the beanie that Ivy gave her. "How do I look now?" _

_Exquisite, Ms. Darcy. _

"Oh, stop it, you," she giggled. Darcy picked up a small cross body bag and put it over herself. "I got my ticket and ID, and my iPod and my headphones. That's all I need, I guess." Blue eyes darted down to look at her watch. "Fantastic. I'm right on time. Frank should be outside now. I'll go now, JARVIS. Talk to you later."

_I must remind you to bring an umbrella, ma'am. There is a 40% chance of rain._

Darcy ignored the AI and proceeded herself towards her door. "Oh it's just 40%. I'll be fine. Okay? I'm going now."

_Have a safe trip then, Ms. Darcy._

Darcy pulled her door close and continued to walk down the stairs. She noticed a lot of children going out of their dorm rooms too, ready to start their vacations. She smiled to herself. She, herself, was excited to go home. She couldn't wait to spend the rest of her birthday with her parents. She missed Tony and Pepper. She wanted to see her Uncle Happy and Uncle Rhodey too. The warm, breezy atmosphere of Malibu would be a nice break from the dreading winter. A faint sound emanated from her stomach. Oh, she couldn't wait until she gets her cake.

As she reached the ground floor, she took out her noise-cancelling/amplifying headphones and slid it over her ears. Darcy plugged the jack into her iPod and pressed shuffle. _Hm, "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera. Interesting. _She bopped her head as the beat pumped through her ears. Pushing the dormitory doors, she braced herself.

There were kids, kids everywhere. All of them were pulling big suitcases and carrying big bags. Cars and taxis crowded past the gates, all boarding their clients. She overheard some kids laughing and talking about their upcoming trips. Some were crying because most of them were little snobby children. Some were even shouting at their parents. _Shouldn't it be the other way around? _Darcy tried to think about the times when Tony or Pepper would be angry at her.

Pepper got angry, one time, when she took apart her phone and the TV to make her own circuit board. But it was forgotten when she used the circuit board to make an LED-lighted card for Mother's Day. Darcy smirked as she remembered when she snuck in to Tony's shop and stole on his engines to power one of her robots. Pepper was furious because it led to one mechanized teddy bear to walk around and spontaneously combusting. Tony was just amused. She even tried hacking into JARVIS and put Lou Bega's _Mambo No. 5_ to annoy her father but it just resulted one of the most memorable dance party the two could ever have.

Upon reaching the gates, Darcy realized something. She couldn't recall any memory of Tony being genuinely angry at her. There wasn't a time where her father would yell at her and scold her. It was mostly Pepper that disciplined her or Uncle Rhodey. The only time Darcy would hear a raise in his voice was when he'd be laughing hysterically.. He never even yelled at her even when he's inebriated. Tony Stark was never angry at Darcy Lewis.

Someone calls out her name and her head whipped immediately to the source. A short, yet lanky man was standing in front of a black Lincoln car, waving to her enthusiastically. He wore a normal black suit and tie topped with a chauffeur hat. Darcy almost laughed at the contrast of his pale skin against the dark shadows of his suit. "Frankie!" she called out, waving back.

"Oh my, you've grown up since I saw you last year. How's Harold's little niece?" the man showed a silly grin. Darcy didn't say anything but just beamed at him. That was the cover. Tony still wasn't comfortable with giving anyone Darcy's real identity so for the moment she was Harold Hogan's super-smart niece. "You're one lucky kid, you know? Getting to ride on one of Tony Stark's private jets."

"Lucky, indeed." Darcy chuckled. Frank smiled back and swiveled around to open the car's door for her. She gracefully glided inside and took a whiff of the leather seats. The chauffeur almost closed the door when Darcy heard a familiar voice ringing through her ears. Blue eyes looked towards past the windshield and saw a long limousine parked in front of them. Its trunk was wide ajar, encumbered with large boxes and suitcases. She noticed the chauffeur have a hard time closing the trunk. A shrill voice was reprimanding him, yelling at him over and over again, Darcy could describe as a depreciation of the man's incompetency.

Pushing her headphones down to her neck, she stopped Frank from closing the door completely. She slithered out of the car and closed it. She pulled an amused look as the girl in front of her distorted into an angry little monster. Her long blonde hair that shared the same length as Darcy's bounced up and down as she released her shrieking voice every five seconds. Her bright white tulle dress swayed with force against her black fur coat as she stomped angrily. Oh how Darcy loved rich people.

"_Ca va, Jeanne?" _Darcy grinned. _How are you, princess? _Jeanne halted yelling, relieving the poor chauffeur from her wrath. She flipped her blonde hair to side, regaining her usual domineering composure. She stroked the collar of her fur coat as her eyes swept up and down, putting Darcy under supercilious scrutiny.

"2002 Burberry's Fall Collection. Not bad, Lewis," she commented haughtily, "I don't know about that hat though. Oh I know. Did Nguyen give you that? Of course, it is. It looks like it was made in an abandoned shack." Darcy's eyebrow twitched up. She was used to all the deprecating remarks from Jeanne. She lived on the faith that Jeanne was dropped in the head as a baby, leaving the 'nice' function of her mouth on the cold floor. Pity.

"You would know, right Jeanne?" Darcy smirked. She heard the chauffeur from before gasped amusingly behind them. Jeanne glowered, not finding a cleverer remark. "What do you want, _nerd_?"

Darcy shrugged. "It looks like your driver was having a hard time here. I thought I'd come and help," she said while scanning the area. The compartment trunk was over-filled of boxes. Behind Jeanne were even more boxes and suitcases. "Well, Jeanne. Is there a flood coming? Wait, scratch that. I don't even know if Noah's Ark can handle all that luggage."

"These are all necessary," Jeanne's chin inclined, "But this ignorant man here keeps telling me that he must the put rest of my luggage inside the car, not the trunk. Look at this, I have nowhere to sit! And I'll be late for my _first-class_ flight." She groaned loudly, gesturing Darcy to look inside the car. It was already nearing maximum capacity and there was still more to put. After a moment of silence, Darcy spoke, "Where are you going?"

"Paris. There's an important dinner that Papa has to go to and I'm also going," she bragged. Darcy smacked herself with her palm, "I doubt that you're driving all the way to Paris, _mon amie_. Let's try this again, shall we? Where are you headed to?"

Jeanne's mouth rounded to an 'oh'. "LaGuardia Airport," she said, confused. Darcy was silent again, face blank but eyes calculating. After a second, she swerved around to walk towards her car. Before going inside, she turned to face the blonde girl. "Come on, Jeanne. You're riding with me."

"_What_?" she asked, incredulous. She was surprised that Darcy suggested such a thing. A nice thing. But of course, her gold-brimming mouth interpreted it another way, "Why would I ride in that dinky car?"

"This car is just the shorter version of your limo. I'm going to the airport too. Let your driver put your entire luggage into the limo and just ride with me. He'll just follow us." Darcy stated stoically. Jeanne was about to retort but Darcy gave her no chance, "Shut your trap and come in."

Darcy slid back into her car and Frank followed to start the engine. She didn't close the door and merely took out her iPod to scroll through her song collection. After ten seconds, she felt someone sit next to her timidly. Darcy didn't say anything and just grinned inwardly. After the door closed, she looked up to Frank, "LaGuardia Airport, please, Frankie."

"Aye-aye, kiddo."

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Why did you help me?" Darcy suddenly heard. She looked up to see Frank take another direction away from the drastic traffic. The she pulled her left sleeve to look at the time. "18 minutes." Darcy muttered.

"What?" Jeanne asked, puzzled.

"It took you 18 minutes to get over the awkwardness," she simply stated.

Jeanne's lips pursed together. "Why did you help me?" she repeated, "Is this your version of a prank?"

"Not a prank."

"Then why are you being nice to me?" Jeanne pursued, "After all I've said to you..."

"Oh please," Darcy smiled, "I prefer to see your insults as tender words of endearment. It gives me a meaning to wake up in the morning." Jeanne didn't say anything. Darcy's never ending sense of sarcasm and carefree attitude stunned her. After all those years of her verbal attacks, Darcy would always respond with either a witty remark or just cool indifference. Jeanne wouldn't admit it, but she admired that about Darcy. She was strong in her own ways. Jeanne wondered if she could ever be admirable as that.

"I…" she muttered shyly, "…like your hat… Sorry about that comment before." Darcy looked at her, surprised. The mean Jeanne Delattre was actually apologizing. What has the world have come to?

"Thank you, and you were right. Ivy made it. She gave it to me for today. I'm sorry for calling you an abandoned shack baby," Darcy smirked, "I also like your outfit. Very classy."

Jeanne returned with a big smile. "I also like your dress and hair. It's a nice break from your boring sweatshirts you dare to call clothes..." Darcy chuckled. The blatant nastiness of her personality was still there.

"Thank you," she replied, amused, "I try to dress nicely for my birthday." Jeanne stared at her with wide eyes, filled with half surprise and half guilt. She suddenly recalled calling Darcy a good-for-nothing nerd when she came to class this morning. She looked down remorsefully, biting her lower lip. Darcy giggled again at her, amused by her reaction.

"Oh I only act like a good-for-nothing nerd for you, Jeanne," she joked, remembering her insult, "Don't worry too much about it. Hearing you apologize was a good enough birthday present from you."

The two shared a couple moments of silence. Darcy didn't mind it as she looked ahead to see Frank trying to avoid the traffic. Jeanne was still feeling guilty. With a sigh, Darcy decided to bring some self-deprecation in to the conversation to cheer her up. After all, Jeanne's happiness only feeds on sparkly things and the entertainment of seeing inferior people, well, become more inferior.

"Paris sounds nice," she started, "Sure beats me going back to California."

Jeanne's head whipped up immediately, with her usual supercilious smile. "Oh yes. Papa is bringing an important thing back to France and we were invited to eat with the President. Maman is waiting for me at the airport right now for our first-class flight," she rambled.

"That's cool. First-class, huh?" Darcy grinned. Jeanne's smile grew even wider, "You're not going by first-class?" she asked.

Does having a private plane considered as first-class? Darcy just shook her head, "Not necessarily."

Jeanne was completely cheered up after that. She began rambling on about her upcoming trip and her plans for her vacations. She began telling her about all the lavish things that she'd buy, the luxurious places she'll be sojourning in, and the renowned people she'll meet. Darcy didn't mind the pompousness Jeanne was exuding. It was somewhat entertaining and interesting. She understood that Jeanne likes having her power displayed to the world. Jeanne enjoyed the materiality of the world, the leisure, the good life. Wealth was her basic foundation for superiority. Jeanne wanted to be on top, to be in control.

Darcy then remembered about her father. Tony Stark likes being in control too. But though most of the people think that Tony Stark held a stronghold in the financial niche of the world, it wasn't. It was intelligence. Wits and knowledge were his greatest weapons not money. He synthesized formulas, observed and analyzed variables and calculated results. He did not live on the primaries of wealth, but the science of it.

Nonetheless, both of them were still similar in some ways. They both have a unique strong flair with drama and style. Fast-moving, and fast-talking, they both looked forward to the finer things in life. They lived focusing only on the external, their five senses stuck on the outside concrete material of the literal world. Dangerously blunt and straightforward, they both enjoy the pursuit of verbal attacks. They love to have fun, and are fun people to be around. They can sometimes be hurtful to others without being aware of it, as they generally do not know and may not care about the effect their words have on others. It's not that they don't care about people; it's that their decision-making process does not involve taking people's feelings into account. Darcy finds them so very interesting.

Darcy let Jeanne ramble more for a few minutes but suddenly the car skidded. The two passengers grew quiet as the chauffeur stepped onto the brakes hastily, trying to stop the car. They painfully crashed themselves towards the back of the front seats. Then Darcy caught a glimpse of a black van that stopped in front of them. She let out a deep sigh of relief when Frank stopped at the right time. After a few moments, Frank turned around to look at his passengers and asked them if they were okay.

"Girls, are you okay?!" Frank exclaimed, "I'm sorry. I wanted to get off traffic so I took this one- way shortcut. Then this van in front of us suddenly stopped midway." The two nodded in utter silence, completely in shock. The he sighed. "Okay, good, just let me back up and we can turn at this corner and—

Darcy let out a bloodcurdling scream. She wanted to see if Jeanne was okay so she turned to her right to look. While Jeanne was fixing her hair and smoothing her coat, Darcy saw a big truck speeding towards their way... It was coming their way and it was coming _fast. _Darcy took no time to think and immediately grabbed the oblivious Jeanne and pulled her close towards the left side of the car. She shoved Jeanne back to the car door and clutched herself on the car floor, grasping on anything she could hold on to. The two quickly shut their eyes close and waited for the impact.

She felt her ears go numb as Jeanne screamed close to her. The crash happened so fast. Amidst the world that Darcy shut her eyes off to, she felt her body hit against the car door very hard. Millions of glass debris flew towards their way as the truck hit them. Darcy expected the car to topple over because of the truck's monster velocity but luckily for them, the car only slid a few feet back.

Darcy took all of her strength to pry her eyes opens. There were glass everywhere and the right passenger door was completely wrecked and replaced by the metallic grills of the pick-up truck. Her first instinct was to check on Jeanne. The poor girl was trembling all over inside her fur coat. She was hysterically crying.

"Jeanne, Jeanne, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Darcy stammered, getting on her knees, "Tell me, what's wrong?"

The girl continued on sobbing, burying her tear-stained face in her hands. Darcy's eyebrows knitted together. She was completely blank of what to do. She suddenly heard the door open at the front so she waited for Frank to open the door.

"Are you two all right?" Frank stuttered as he popped the door open. Darcy regained her balance and stepped outside the car, then carefully led her friend out. Darcy noticed crimson fluid dripped over his eyes from his head. "Frank, you're bleeding!" Darcy cried.

The man stared at her incredulously and raised a shivering hand to touch his bloodied forehead. Upon the moment he laid his yes upon his tainted hand, a large man clad in all black and a ski mask crept up behind him. Jeanne screamed loudly as the bulky man grabbed a hold of Frank's head. Frank didn't have to time to react as the guy smashed his head on the car. The man miserably fell unconscious, leaving the dark big guy to turn his attention towards the girls.

Two pairs of bright blue eyes went ajar as the man began walking towards them. Jeanne swallowed back a sob but Darcy didn't say anything. She reached for Jeanne's arm and gripped it tightly. She couldn't say anything or do anything but look at Frank's inanimate body lie coldly on the concrete. Jeanne let out a desperate whimper, snapping Darcy's attention towards the imminent danger dreading in. She inched close to Jeanne and whispered, "Run." With that cue, the two twisted their feet to run back to a place where there were more people.

Darcy kept her focus on the sight of the alleyway, hoping that they'd reach the end of it. But all hope was lost when a large hand went to cover her mouth. All hope was lost when she started breathing in a sweet-smelling smell from a dirty rag. All hope was lost when she turned to see Jeanne getting carried by strange men, eyes closed, paralyzed, unmoving. All hope was lost when she only saw nothing. Nothing but darkness.

* * *

oOo

* * *

oOo

* * *

A throbbing pain. Excruciating stings. Piercing burns. These were all the things that Jeanne felt as she drifted back to consciousness. The air was damped and the smell of rusting metal filled her nose. The hard floor stung her cheeks, poisoned with the pernicious November frost. The glass shards were still clinging on her hair, threatening that more pain will come if she moved the slightest inch. Jeanne had no idea where she was.

And yet, she didn't dare to open her eyes. She didn't want to. The frank contamination of fear was thrashing inside her system. She didn't dare to witness the imminent monstrosity outside the voids of the darkness her eyes dwelled in. She was afraid that she might see the things she doesn't want to see. She was afraid that once she opens her eyes, her captors will begin to hurt her even more. She was completely, utterly afraid.

So she listened.

With the most cautious move, she shifted her head to let both of her ears come into contact with the air. Her breathing slowed and evened out. She stayed still as a statue and listened. All she could hear was her beating heart, thumping, trembling.

And Darcy's voice.

Her voice was low, down to a whisper. Jeanne expected her to be shaking in fear as she would have been if she was caught conscious. She expected to hear a sob or some kind of desperate cry for help. But Darcy's voice was steady. It was stably confident. Strong.

Confused. Slowly, opening her eyes, she snuck a peek. Nothing changed from opening her eyes. Blunt nothingness still shrouded the place she was thrown into. Then she moved her head up slightly to face Darcy. Jeanne was surprised that she could actually see Darcy.

Darcy's face floated amongst the darkness they have been contained in. Her usual paleness was tinted with a light blue hue. Her usual deep azure eyes glowed, reflecting some kind of light. They were steady and calm. Darcy didn't seem to notice that she was awake. She just kept looking down on something, muttering quietly to herself. So Jeanne decided to sit up.

Now she was even more confused. The girl in front of her was just plain weird.

"_Lewis_, why are you talking to your watch?" she asked with a low hiss. Jeanne looked at her as if she just saw a mindless retard. Darcy ignored her and continued on muttering to her watch.

"…okay? I'll be fine, don't worry. Mom, I'm okay, stop crying. I have to go now, be sure to do what I told you. Oh and bring an ambulance. Okay. This will work. Don't worry, bye…" Darcy murmured quietly, eyes intently on her glowing watch. Then she switched her gaze back to Jeanne, then back at her watch, "2 hours, 14 minutes."

"_What?_" Jeanne was totally puzzled, "What are you talking about?"

Darcy's face was covered in dirt. Cuts and bruises were also evident, resulting by the crash. But Jeanne found no trace of tears. Darcy just looked at her, blank of emotion.

"It took you 2 hours to wake up... Good morning, princess."

* * *

oOo

* * *

Pepper truly wished she could teleport. She wished that she could just snap her fingers and magically appear on the boroughs of New York. She wished that she wasn't so far away. She wished Darcy wasn't just kidnapped two hours ago.

She gazed at her own reflection. Her cheeks were stained with countless tears. Her ginger red hair was disheveled. Her pupils dilated against her grey blue eyes. Her skin was empty of any color. She never thought she'd see this side of herself again. Her hands shook tremulously against the cold porcelain sink. Her lips quivered. She never thought she was able to feel it again.

That feeling.

As if chains coiled with barbed wire wounded around her heart squeezed tighter each second. Air wasn't so fulfilling, suffocating her with every breath. Her chest throbbed. Her stomach ached. Everything hurt. A loud sob escape her throat as she spiraled into vertigo. It was the same feeling. She'd never thought she'd be able to feel it again. It felt like the day Meredith died.

Pepper sobbed more. She was worried… worried that there was still no news of Darcy. She was afraid… afraid that Darcy could be injured, hurt, alone. She was _angry…_ angry that she couldn't do anything about it. It was one of her greatest weakness. The feeling of being useless. As if she was nailed down to the floor, hands tied together, eyes blind, mouth mute. She felt abhorrently, utterly powerless, desperate of hope.

Why must she always be so far away when something bad happens? She was always 3000 miles away from the people that needed her the most. Pepper hated it. She feared it.

Pepper tried to gather some strength to maintain an inkling of stability. But what was the point of gathering something that doesn't exist?

No.

Reaching for a tissue, she wiped all the tears from her face. After that, with all the strength she mustered before. She looked straight at her reflections. Eyes glared, still gleaming with tears.

She shouldn't think like this. She shouldn't be like this. When has she become so pessimistic? Darcy is strong. She raised her to be that way. Darcy is smart. Tony raised her to be that way. Darcy would be finding out some way to free herself from her captors. She'd be devising some plan to obliterate all obstacles. She'd be killing people with her never ending cynicism. Yes. Darcy was strong. She'll be fine on her own for now. She'll hold them off. And JARVIS would be there to help her.

Of course…! Pepper's eyes widened. JARVIS is with her! The watch!

After throwing away her tissue, she slid the bathroom door open. All the flight attendants pushed themselves away from Pepper's way to let her rush towards her seat. The plane began to shake weakly, as they entered a low pressure system. A rain was dreading in but she ignored it. She focused and made her way to her seat. Her stare concentrated straight ahead, examining the man in front of her.

The moment they stepped inside the plane, Tony did not say anything. He did not move an inch. He did not talk to anyone. He merely sat on his usual seat, leaned back and whipped out his phone. With his phone on his right hand, and a glass of scotch, he didn't do anything. He didn't do anything but stare at his own device. Not a second did he look away. Not a thing could distract him. He simply held the metal contraption and stared at it. Pepper couldn't handle his impassive behavior. She didn't want to be the only one freaking out in the situation. Happy was in the corner trying to contact his injured friend. Rhodes was behind her making calls with his satellite phone. But Tony was just there sitting… looking intently at his phone, while shaking his glass. Frustrated, she dashed to the bathroom to release all her anger, her anxiety.

Now, she came back, Tony was still the same, still staring… drinking. Pepper fumed.

"You!" she yelled, attracting attention from Happy and Rhodey. Tony didn't response nor look up. "You! You _knew_! You knew all along!"

"What? Did you want me to drop down on my knees and slowly cry myself to death or something?" He sighed, still not looking up and took a sip of his scotch. "I don't do that."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Pepper yelled, "I deserved to know too!" Happy and Rhodey just looked at them, confused.

"Because you're just there crying your eyes out!" Tony barked back, surprising everyone, stunning Pepper. He finally looked up, his pupils shaking with anger. "You haven't taken one second to just stop and look at the situation! Again, you never believe. You just assume all you want and continue to torture yourself, when your daughter was right there was smart enough to turn on the homing tracer in her watch." He flipped his phone, to show the screen to Pepper. Happy and Rhodey rushed towards next to Pepper to look at the screen too. The screen was all black, topped with geometrical lines and shapes, taking the look of a floor plan map. On the center was a big rectangle contained smaller squares. Inside one of the squares was bright red dot, blinking. "Dry Dock 4, Brooklyn, New York," Tony said nonchalantly, calming down, "Blinking means she's fine."

The three of them sighed in relief in unison. Pepper felt a heavy weight being lifted off her shoulders. The dark miasma of hopelessness was gone. It was washed away with reprieve and a hint of pride and joy. Darcy was truly smart.

"You had coordinates all along, Tony," Rhodes piped in, "You should've told me so I can send my people there."

"No," Tony quickly replied, "It's too risky. We don't even know why someone would kidnap Darcy. We don't know what they want. We don't know why. I'm just waiting for Darcy for instructions."

"Is this about keeping the secret, Tony?" Pepper asked angrily, "Darcy is in danger and you're just there sitting worrying about the secret? And why would Darcy give—

A loud beeping sound radiated from the phone. Everybody's attention was cut off and switched towards the beeping phone. Tony placed the phone on the table in front of him. The other three quietly gathered around it. JARVIS' voice popped in.

_Ms. Darcy is calling. _

"About time... JARVIS, answer," Tony ordered, "Everybody shut up," he said as he tapped the phone's screen. Everybody held their breath as they waited for Darcy's voice to come out.

"God, the reception is awesome, Dad. Is this via satellite?" Darcy first said. Tony didn't say anything and just smirked inwardly. "Okay, not the point. Anyway, um, yeah I think I was kidnapped. I guess there's a first time to everything… I'm in a dock but you probably know that by now. I can't see anything though, everything is pitch-black." Pepper wanted to start rambling to her daughter, to demand questions and answers, but the domineering stare from Tony restrained her so. "I'm okay, first of all. You all can start breathing again." Everybody obeyed.

"I'm just a little woozy. Whoever kidnapped me used chloroform. I didn't get the full dose, because I was fighting at first and I held my breath. Yup, I fought. Uncle Happy, you rock for all those lessons." Happy grinned weakly. "So yeah, I regained consciousness a little bit earlier than what they've expected."

"Do you have a plan?" Tony murmured, "Do you know what they want?"

"Don't I always, Dad?" Pepper could feel her smirk. "I was already half-awake when they started dragging me inside this warehouse. I remember there were a lot of cargo containers inside but the entrance is still clear in my head. I don't know how many people exactly are outside, I think only 5 or 6 and I think their leader. They sound stupid, though, so I think I'll mess with them a little."

"Darcy! Please, don't do anything rash. Help is on the way." Pepper begged, "Honey do you know what they want?"

"Okay, fine I won't mess with them." Darcy sighed, "But I have a plan of escape. It'll be easy. They didn't bind me or anything. Just threw me inside this container. I'll create a distraction so there's room for an escape. I just need an extraction team. Yeah, I've been reading too much spy novels. That'd be awesome though. I wish I can meet spies. Okay, rambling again. I need some kind of rescue team by the dock as soon as possible. We are far away from the road so the best possible way is to go by water. Ask Uncle Rhodey to send the Coast Guard, Sea S.W.A.T. or the Sea-Faring Police Department of New York or something. Send the Navy for all I care. Full stealth mode, though. Tell them to just wait there. No troops to barge in and stuff. I still don't know if they have guns or not. This warehouse is the perfect home for ricocheting bullets. Ricocheting bullets are bad. So, they just need to wait there. All they need to worry about is the extraction. All I need is extraction. Think about the kidnappers later. Dad, you still there?"

"I'm still here," Tony replied, "Are you sure this would work?"

"Now is not the time to start doubting me, Dad." Darcy said, turning serious, "Just trust me on this one. This will work. Stop worrying, okay? I'll be fine, don't worry. Mom, I'm okay, stop crying. I have to go now, be sure to do what I told you. Oh and don't forget to bring paramedics. Yeah. This will work. Don't worry, okay…bye…"

Silence flooded the room.

"All right, I'll call Coast Guard." Rhodes started going back to his seat.

"I'll call NYPD." Happy contributed.

Tony just checked the time. Only 1 hour left till they land. Pepper reached for his phone again. Tony stopped her hand. "Don't call back. We have to stick to the plan. We have to trust her, Pep."

Pepper tried to wriggle his hand away, but Tony's strength overpowered her. She continued to fight back, trying to get the phone. After a while, she gave up. She slumped back to her seat, completely blanched.

"She kept saying that she's okay, Tony! Then why did she just ask for paramedics?"

* * *

oOo

* * *

"W-Where are we, Darcy?" Jeanne stuttered. Darcy didn't answer. She was still muttering to her watch. She looked around for a door or any kind of opening but found no luck. Everything around was just pure darkness. She hugged her knees, and shivered. Wherever they were, there was no hell they had heat to protect them from the November cold. She looked at Darcy again, still ignoring her. "Hey, did you make that? Is that our way out here? Did you call the police?"

"Yeah, it's our way out," Darcy simply replied. Jeanne watched continue to speak to her watch. She had seen Darcy work on a few technological subjects during homeroom. She would take out her kit of screwdrivers and work on some piece of metal, and a bunch of wires. Jeanne always knew. She was there to make of fun it.

She waited until Darcy stopped talking. Darcy muttered, "Thanks, JARVIS."

"You named your watch?" Jeanne asked with a tone of bewilderment.

"It's the system. The system's name is JARVIS. Don't ask." Darcy sighed, and then froze in place. Her face turned stoic, eyes calculating. Jeanne, confused again, inched in closer to her. She called out her name, trying to keep her from spacing out. Darcy was wearing the same pensive look when she tries to figure a complex math problem, or… "What are you thinking, Darcy?" Jeanne asked, waving her hand in front of Darcy's face.

She let out a small gasp when Darcy grabbed a hold of her waving hand skillfully. Darcy no longer wore her pensive look. It was replaced by a face, serious, officious, asserting all the power in the situation. Jeanne was surprised. She had never seen that kind of expression from her. Darcy was always so sarcastic or just completely emotionless. The face she wore was gravely stern, confident, powerful… charismatic. Darcy continued to hold her wrist as she looked up to see Jeanne eye-to-eye. Quivering blue eyes met a pair of unyielding, serious ones.

"Close your eyes," Darcy ordered. Jeanne's eyebrows scrunched together, puzzled. Darcy squeezed her wrist tighter, "Close them!" she hissed. Jeanne quickly obeyed, shutting her eyes closer. She was now frightened more than ever.

"I want you to focus, concentrate really hard," Darcy whispered. Jeanne tried to free her hand from her grasp, but Darcy tightened her grip even more, "I want you to shut up and listen. Listen really hard. Concentrate all your thoughts to every noise you can pick up, and tell me what you hear."

Jeanne obeyed. She sat still. She squeezed her eyes close. She inhaled shallow breaths… and just listened.

"I…" Jeanne whispered, facing west, "I hear them. The men who kidnapped us. They're arguing."

"Yeah, they've been arguing for awhile. Ignore them," Darcy commanded, "What else do you hear?"

"I… hear birds…?" she said, turning to her left.

"Seagulls. You're hearing seagulls. What else?"

Jeanne pushed out the cries of the seagulls and focused more. She heard it but it was faint, but she knew where it was. "Waves? I think I hear water, and boats." The sound was very weak, but it was distinct.

"Good," she heard Darcy sigh in relief, "Great, you can hear. This might actually work."

"Darcy? What are you talking about?" Jeanne asked, opening her eyes. Darcy's grave expression was gone. She was smiling at her. The smile was weak, but genuine. Jeanne didn't know why but somehow that smile was sending a pang to her chest. Darcy loosened her grip around her wrist, but she didn't let go. Sending a piercing stare at Jeanne, she grinned weakly, "I have a plan. There is a chance to escape," Jeanne didn't say anything back. She just stared back at her, incredulous.

"Are you crazy, Darcy?" she lowly hissed, "What do you mean _plan?_ There is _no_ planning here. This is a kidnapping! They kidnapped us because they want something! The most logical thing to do is to wait for the ransom so we can be freed. Papa will be here any minute to help us."

"What they want is too valuable," Darcy shook head, "It's too valuable."

"I'm sure _nothing_ can be more valuable than the lives of two little girls." Jeanne glared, "Darcy, trying to escape is riskier. What if we get caught? They'd hurt us! C'mon, Darcy, think! I thought you were the genius here!"

"Have you ever heard of the _Hope Diamond_?" Darcy snapped back, rendering the girl in front of her speechless. "Yeah, I'm talking about the freaking part of the French crown jewels. I overheard one of the people outside arguing about this. It's insured for 250 million dollars. It will be even more in the black market. It's one of your countries greatest treasures. They knew that the French Ambassador—your father—would have it to send to Paris tonight. So what way could even be greater than keeping the French Ambassador's daughter as hostage?"

Jeanne couldn't say anything. She was shocked. "Yes, Jeanne. You're the bargaining chip. It's your life for the diamond."

"P-Papa can give them the diamond," Jeanne stammered, "He has to…"

"And he will, Jeanne," Darcy said gently, "The gem may be millions of dollars, but your life is too precious. Your life is priceless." Jeanne could feel tears coming up. She heard Darcy gulped. "But… they have guns. I saw them carrying rifles, Jeanne. I don't know but it is very likely that they'd either kill your dad on the spot, or you, or all of us."

"No, no, no!" Jeanne whimpered, burying her face in her knees, "What are we going to do? I don't want to die. I don't want anyone to die. What are we going to do, Darcy?"

"That's why I came up with a plan. Escaping here would keep anyone from coming to this trap. No one will have to get hurt, Jeanne." Darcy crooned. "If you are safe, then your Dad won't have to be forced into coming here and save you. You have to save yourself. You hear me?"

Blue eyes gave out streams of tears as Jeanne exhaled in exasperation. Darcy squeezed her left wrist again. "Jeanne, you hear me?" She sniffed and nodded. She looked up to meet Darcy's gaze. More tears came out. Darcy' eyes were completely solid and serious. Jeanne knew that those eyes were determined. They have to act now.

"Okay," Darcy commenced, "Before I lay out the plan, you have to promise me. Jeanne, you have to promise me with all of your heart, that you _trust_ me. Trust me with everything and that you follow through the plan unreservedly, no questions asked. No matter what I say, you follow me this time. There is no time for questions, you hear me Jeanne? You have to do everything I say so you can come out alive."

Jeanne nodded but that wasn't enough for Darcy. Gripping both of her wrists, she hissed louder.

"Jeanne, do you understand? Are we clear?" Darcy attested.

"Yes, Darcy. I promise. I-I trust you. I understand." Jeanne stammered. The two exchanged stares, a moment of fortitude, communication, and a cry for hope.

"All right," Darcy exhaled, "Here's the plan: They know the estimated effect time of chloroform dose they gave us should end right about now so it is no surprise that they'll come and barge in here any moment, and when they do, they will probably bring us out for questioning, or some kind of kidnapper monologue they planned. They'll probably make a scene about how the ransom will play out, and all that drama and stuff. Don't ask, I read a lot of books. They're going to ask questions but I want you to be quiet. You hear me, Jeanne? I want you to _shut up_. Don't say anything. Let me all do the talking. If you ever open your mouth, we are dead. Start bawling on the floor or something. Cry like a little spoiled brat you are but please do not say anything."

Jeanne glared at her. "_Spoiled brat_?" Darcy just rolled her eyes at her, "Please, Jeanne. Now's not the time to start questioning your identity. And what did I just say? Is there a little bugger on your brain that refuses to follow directions?"

Jeanne continued to glower at her but she knew it wasn't the time, "Fine, fine… I'll shut up. I'll just sit there and cry. Yup. Shut up and cry." She sighed. She knew that she was bound to cry when they drag her and Darcy out. She knew she was weak. She didn't have the capabilities to be as cool-headed and strong like Darcy. All she can do is cry, and if that's the only way to escape, she'll gladly act the part.

"Good. Glad we're on the same page here." Darcy continued, "After their little villain monologue, I'm going to talk to them. Mess with them a little bit. Throw them off course." Jeanne opened her mouth to question that aspect of the plan. She didn't see any reason to provoke their kidnappers. The people with the guns. But Darcy was already glaring at her, daring her to speak. "I know, Jeanne. Yes, I'm going to aggravate them. They are going to get angry. That's good, you see? They'll get distracted. All their attention will be directed to me and to me only and this is where _you _come in. Are you ready?"

Jeanne nodded, eyebrows together, worried, and scared. She watched Darcy raise her hair from her neck and slid out something. It was the headphones that she always wore. Darcy then placed the earphones around Jeanne's neck and arranged her hair to cover them. "I know it's not really your style, _cherie. _But just bear with it, okay?" Darcy said, "When they start getting distracted, you put these headphones over your ears. These are already broken though, the jack got cut off but they're still noise-cancelling. These will protect your ears. Understand?"

Jeanne nodded, then raised her hand timidly to ask for permission to talk. Darcy sighed and rubbed her temple, "Yes?"

"Why should I wear them? What are they—

"Shut up. Let me finish," Darcy spat back, "When you put these headphones over your ears, the noise surrounding you will be reduced. This will help to protect your ears from this." Darcy took her left wrist and raised it limply in front of Jeanne's face. Around her wrist was a black watch that Darcy was talking to earlier. It was glowing blue, just as when she first woke up. She looked at it, astounded. She never noticed Darcy put it around her wrist. She couldn't even feel it around her wrist. As if it wasn't there. She then switched her gaze to Darcy. Jeanne had complete knowledge of all the finer things in life and she knew that what she was wearing was high quality crocodile leather. It adds one more mystery to the curious identity of Darcy Lewis.

"If you look at the watch, there's a little map. This is a satellite view of the warehouse we are in. You see this? You're the little red dot." Darcy pointed at the watch's screen. Jeanne saw a little floorplan of the place. "In this little opening right here, that's the way out. This exit is closest to the water. When I say go, you will turn the crown here. You will turn it counterclockwise twice." Darcy acted it out to show her how to do it. "When you have the headphones over your ear, and when I say go, _remember¸_ when I say go, turn it and it will release a whistle with a sound pressure level of 85 decibels. At this decibel and above will stun the kidnappers for while. If we're fortunate, it'll shatter their eardrums. The whistle can only go for at least 20 seconds because of the battery. In those 20 seconds, I want you to run."

Jeanne tried to speak again but Darcy cut her off by dropping her wrist. "Jeanne, yes, I want you to run. Run to that exit. Run as fast as you can. And when you are outside, you follow the sound of the water that you were hearing earlier. Trust your instincts and follow it. If you ever get lost, look at the watch. But don't rely on it too much, the battery will die. So just run. Run away from here. When you reach the water, the Coast Guard and the Police will be waiting." Darcy asserted, "Run, Jeanne and never look back. Never ever look back. You keep your eyes on the prize. Don't look back and just run. Clear?"

More tears began to fall down from Jeanne's eyes as Darcy continued to tell her the directions. She was incredibly frightened. She was afraid of her captors. She was afraid of the things they'll do to them. "Darcy, I don't know. I'm so scared. What if they take the watch away from me? What if I forget the plan? What if I turn it clockwise instead of counterclockwise? What if I started babbling about how we're going to escape? What if I forget to wear the headphones? What if I don't know where to go? Oh my god, I'm going to trip. Yes I'm going to trip and die. I'll trip while running and roll off the water and drown. Papa will just bring my cold dead body to Paris. Oh my god, Paris. I'm never going to Pari—

Jeanne's jaw dropped to the ground when she felt a massive force throwing her cheek back. "Did you just _slap_ me, Lewis?" she hissed, holding her cheek. Darcy was glaring at her.

"Yes, and I'll do it again if you don't shut the hell up. Stupid girl." Darcy snapped back, "Stop doubting yourself. You can do this, Jeanne Delattre. You can do this. I believe in you. You hear that? I believe in you. You are one of the most confident people I know. You rank second to my list, I won't tell you who's the first. Don't ask. But that person, he always gets to his goals. He finishes what he started. He'll do anything to achieve anything. He's the greatest person I know. Now if you make it out through this, if you keep that confidence you have, if you just believe in yourself, you could be number 1. Do you want to be number 1, Jeanne?"

Jeanne wiped her tears with her fur coat, and sniffed. "Number 1 sounds nice," she sobbed.

Darcy smiled gently, and reached for Jeanne's shoulders. "That's more like it."

"Hey boss! I think the kids are awake. I hear 'em," they suddenly heard. Muffled voices continued to talk outside their container. Jeanne let out a quivering gasp, and wormed closer to Darcy.

"Do you remember what I told you, Jeanne?" Darcy whispered, pulling her close. Jeanne nodded, "Shutting up now."

Darcy stretched her hands towards Jeanne's fur coat and smoothed it out. She pulled the sleeves down to conceal the glowing watch. Darcy then pulled back to give her one last look of the shaking girl. Clicking her tongue, she curled her lips and looked around. Jeanne watched her wiped her hand on the dirty container floor. Then she gasped as Darcy touched her own face and dab the dirt on her face. She let out a louder gasp as Darcy wiped for more dirt and reach for Jeanne's face. She wanted to scream in disgust but she held on to the little faith that it was part of the plan. She could feel the dirt covering her whole face.

"A little war paint wouldn't hurt, right?" Darcy smirked through her sullied face. Jeanne wanted to glare at her but suddenly, the doors of the container began to clank. The two froze and prepared themselves for their captors. Jeanne shivered next to Darcy and tried to hold back a sob. At that time, they were finally on their own.

"Oh, before I forget," Darcy uttered under her breath, "Wear this." She then raised her arms to slip her knit hat off her head and slithered it over Jeanne's. "I know it's not your taste but you know how it is. It's going to be cold outside," she murmured as she fixed the hat over Jeanne's head. "It looks good on you, don't worry," she said, meeting Jeanne's eyes.

As the door opened, revealing large silhouettes of two men, Darcy quickly grabbed Jeanne's wrist. She squeezed it really hard as sign for Jeanne that their plan has begun. She heard Jeanne whimper, burying her head deeper into her fur coat. Darcy swallowed deep breaths as the two men in front of them inched closer, their dark hands hoisted up like claws, ready to capture their prey.

"Jeanne," Darcy muttered lowly, "Also… there's one thing you need to do."

Jeanne swallowed back a sob.

"Don't speak French, Jeanne."

* * *

oOo

* * *

Tony's attention to his watch heightened when the red dot that indicated Darcy started moving. The red dot moved slowly towards the left then zoomed up. His hands clenched tighter, grabbing the phone hard. His stare hardened, and his lips flattened. Whoever kidnapped Darcy, just threw her across the floor. Tony deduced that the men have started talking to them.

Tony never predicted for this to happen. It was a problem he never expected, never imagined. He thought he had planned it perfectly. The secret was flawless. Darcy Stark-Lewis would be safe in a highly protected boarding school while he continues his masquerade as the billionaire philanthropist, Tony Stark. No one had any suspicions. But now, this kidnapping, it was simply unexplainable. It was an unnecessary variable to his calculations. Only he, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy knew about Darcy. Well, there was that Doctor Conrad but he can't tell anyone due to the restricted of the confidentiality between a doctor and his patient. To other people's eyes, there was only the simple Darcy Lewis. No one knew about Darcy Stark. So why would someone kidnap her?

He thought of reasons. The only thing that was extraordinary about Darcy Lewis was her genius-intellect, but it wasn't worthy of abduction. No one knew about Darcy's unparalleled financial background. Her cover parents were only mere public relation workers of Stark Industries. Certainly, a 13-year old child wouldn't have Stark Industries secrets so it wasn't that. It wasn't money or anything. The answer still was a mystery to him.

His thought process was suddenly interrupted when his Colonel friend walked to his side. "Coast Guard's ETA is 5 minutes, Stark. NYPD is also on their way across the river." Rhodes murmured, "Also, I would like you to stay at the airport until we recover Darcy."

"I'm perfectly able by myself, Rhodey," Tony interjected, "Just prepare a helicopter."

"No, it's too risky. We don't want Tony Stark coming in a police scene of an unknown girl's kidnapping. I also contacted S.W.A.T to—

"That is my daughter in that warehouse, Rhodes, nothing can stop me." Tony hissed. Rhodes sighed and squatted to face Tony eye-to-eye. He wore a gentler look.

"Fine," he said, rubbing his temples, "How about we get you to the South Street Port where the police and the paramedics are waiting to receive Darcy. Then you can do whatever the hell you want."

"There will be a car waiting for us in LaGuardia, Tony," Pepper piped in, "The jet will be landing in less than an hour."

Tony didn't say anything. He ignored everyone. His main focus was the glowing red dot on his phone's screen. Darcy should escape any minute.

* * *

oOo

* * *

The two men grabbed the girls' arms tightly, and started dragging them out of the container. Jeanne continued to cry, whimpering because of the pain. Darcy winced, and tried to free herself from the man. She continued to wriggle and move as Jeanne stared at her with her tear-stained face. Upon reaching the exterior of their little container cage, the two men bent down to clutch the two by their shoulders and tossed them to the center of the warehouse.

Darcy rolled over the floor to lessen the impact. Jeanne didn't know what to do so she just cried in pain. Darcy pulled her close, soothing her. She hugged her close, stroking the back of her fur coat as she scanned her surroundings.

She counted five men surrounding her, all clad in dark outfits and black tinted sunglasses. _Honestly, it's completely dark and these people are wearing sunglasses. Stupid men, _Darcy thought. They all had rifles in their hands. Jeanne continued to whimper like a sick puppy as bright lights began to shine over them. Darcy squinted to look against the light. She positioned herself to expose her to the men more, bringing Jeanne to face the back, giving her perfect view of the exit.

Distinct steps began to resound towards them. Upon the bright blight that blinded Darcy, a long silhouette of a man treaded to her. The man walked close to one of the men, Darcy recognized as one of the men that abducted her. The man yelled at the guy and slapped his head.

"You only had one job!" the man had a gruff voice, throaty and brooding yet it had a tinge of a shrill piccolo undertone, "You had one job, you ignorant wanker and that was to kidnap one girl. Did you feel you were going to get extra credit if you kidnap _two _of them? Stupid! Stupid!" the man bellowed. Darcy glared at the dark figure. So they _were_ targeting Jeanne. She didn't get kidnapped because of her secret. She sighed inwardly. The secret was safe. But that doesn't change the fact that they were still captured.

"Sorry, boss," whined the man. He sounded like a little boy, "I didn't know there was another girl in the car. You only told me to follow the car and get the girl. I swear, boss, I didn't know there was another girl. And I didn't know which one to get so I just got them both."

Darcy wanted to smack herself. The pure ignorance poisoning the air was getting annoying.

"It's the French Ambassador's daughter! How hard can that be! I told you get the girl with the blue eyes, and long hair, and the one with expensive clothes! Is that too hard!?" the man complained, "The Ambassador has blue eyes and dark hair. Look at them, just find which one looks like him. You know what? I'll do it since you little moronic little shits will probably get it wrong."

Darcy rolled her eyes. It's her first time getting kidnapped and she was kidnapped by possibly the most idiotic people in the world. Jeanne shivered in Darcy's arms when she heard them. The man began to walk towards them.

The man stopped just a foot in front of them and pulled himself down to their level. Darcy gave out the meanest glare she had in her system. The man was someone Darcy did not expect. He was unpredictably old. He looked like he was like in his late forties or even older than that. He wore a dirty black suit and a black tie. His head was thin and pale, covered with fully grey hair. His white hair was tousled and messy, two chunks of it pointed up mimicking the look of animal ears. His pale white moustache twitched as he smirked in front of them.

"What a pair of beautiful girls," the man sneered. Jeanne whimpered more, burying her face in Darcy's wild mess of hair. Darcy flashed her bright blue eyes, and glared at the man harder.

"It's shame that you two are covered with dirt and glass. I wouldn't get to see all your beauty," the man said venomously, reaching to touch Darcy's face. She quickly used her free hand to slap it away, giving another ferocious glare. The man pulled back, chuckling. "Oh what do we have here? We got a feisty one." The other men laughed at them.

Then a frown covered his face, "I don't like feisty ones. I like my victims crying and begging." Then his hands zoomed to grab Darcy's coat and Jeanne's arm. Jeanne let out a cry as Darcy growled. The man ignored her and looked down to examine her. "Goddamnit," he hissed, "Both of these girls are wearing expensive clothes. Burberry and Prada. Both of them have blue eyes too."

"Well, boss, they do go to an expensive boarding school, it's not a surprise that they—

"Shut up! I don't have time for your sass," the man growled. He let go of them, letting Jeanne crawl back to Darcy to cry more. Darcy's glare followed the man as he paced back and forth. Jeanne was already doing her part, she should start hers.

"Who are you?" she squeaked out, maintain her piercing glare. The man stopped pacing and smirked. He leaned down close to sneer at her. "I am the world's greatest thief. You must have seen my work. Recently, I've acquired a Gauguin, a Picasso, and a Van Gogh from Whitworth Gallery. Such woeful security, they had."

"Never heard of such thing," Darcy countered. The man growled.

"Then you must know me for my infamous name," the man pursued, "They call me the Black Fox," he sneered.

Darcy shrugged, "You look more like a meerkat to me. How about the Black Meerkat? It suits your more."

The old man growled louder, inciting a response from his men. Darcy gulped to herself when the men around took a step closer to them, gripping their rifles. Jeanne sobbed, hugging Darcy tighter. "Step back, I'm fine," he hissed, waving to his minions to step back. He twisted around to face Darcy and squatted down to eye level with her. He grabbed her face painfully and squeezed it hard. "You've got some nerve, little girl. If I were you I'd watch that filthy mouth of yours before somebody gets hurt." He stuck out his thumb and index finger to make an L-shape and pointed it at her temple, earning a frightened moan from Jeanne.

"You've got some nerve trying to kidnap the Ambassador's daughter," Darcy glowered, shaking her head to remove the man's finger away from her face, "It will only be a matter of time until someone kicks your butt, _meerkat,_"

"My plan is flawless," the man chuckled, "I've already sent the message to the Ambassador. It will only be a matter of time until I get the gem… The precious Hope Diamond. A precious life for a precious gem. That's all I ask for." he nudged his finger harder on Darcy's temple, digging his nail on to her skin, "All I need is for the daughter to call him for a little dramatic flair. It settles the negotiation, you know?"

"I hate to break it to you, but your plan has a lot of holes. Your men are stupid and you're even more stupid and crazier." Darcy gibed, "I can hear the tonka truck gears clunk and grind in that underdeveloped cranium of yours. Someone went a little cuckoo tonight!"

Darcy praised herself for that wonderful insult. She expected the man to explode in anger. She expected him to grab her and slide her across the floor and distract them. But the man didn't say anything and just smirked. Darcy wanted to slap the guy to wipe that evil smirk of his ugly face.

"You are a strong little girl. You are surely not affected by my threats. You certainly have a _death wish_," he leered, removing his pointy nail from her temple. Darcy's eyes widened as he moved his hand and pointed his finger to Jeanne's forehead. Jeanne swallowed back a sob, letting more tears fall as she felt the cold tip of his finger touch her skin. "But you see… I'm not your fairy godmother. I don't grant wishes. I give them to other people who needs them more." He laughed as he poked Jeanne's forehead. Then he held his other hand out, "Drake, my pistol please."

Darcy's head whipped to the left to see one of the men come out of the darkness, holding a small gun on his hand. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. Anger flushed through her system. She felt a small tug in her heart when she heard Jeanne sob beside her. Jeanne can't get hurt. It wasn't part of the plan. No one needs to die tonight. There was no need for unnecessary bloodshed. She didn't want to turn this kidnapping into a murder. Darcy shut her eyes. She hoped that the second part of her plan works.

_Stop!_

Inhaling a deep breath, she slowly opened her eyes to glare at the sneering man in front of her, "_Arretez!" _she yelled. The man with the pistol stopped in his place. Black Fox smirked even wider. Jeanne raised her head to look at her, shocked. Darcy ignored.

"You don't have to hurt her," Darcy yelled, "She is not the one you want."

Jeanne could feel her pinch her side, wanting to blurt the questions running through her head but Darcy just gave her a warning look. _Follow the plan, Jeanne. Just shut up and let me do the talking._

"She is just a classmate," Darcy continued, "She offered me a ride to the airport when there was no space in my limousine. Do not hurt her."

The man stood up and guffawed. "Did you see that guys? I told you I'll find out who the daughter is." His men laughed with him. "Glad to see that you're cooperating, Ms. Delattre," he said to Darcy.

The plan was going well. The fish has caught the bait. They think that Darcy is Jeanne.

"Do not hurt her," Darcy glared, "I'm the one you want. Let her go."

"Let her go? _Let her go_?" the man continued to laugh, "Why would I let your little friend leave? She has seen our faces… and I don't like witnesses." Then he stood up quickly to grab his pistol from one of his men. Instinctively, Darcy threw her body over Jeanne's. She held her stance strong, not budging as the man tried to grab her away. Jeanne cried loudly as the man cursed under his breath trying to strip the stubborn Darcy away from her. "You obstinate little girl!" the man hissed. Then he gestured two of his men close. Darcy shouted at them as the two brooding men stepped closer to grab Jeanne away from her. She wanted to jump at them and claw their faces out but suddenly a strong forced grabbed her curly hair and pulled it back. She cried out in pain as the Black Fox hauled her like she was a piece of weed in the ground. She growled louder as the two men carried Jeanne away towards the back.

"Let go of me!" Darcy roared. The man just laughed maniacally and continued pulling her by her hair. The process was somehow excruciating. She didn't know that hair-pulling was so painful. It stung, it burned, and it hurt like hell. She raised her arms to reach for the man's arms. She felt an overwhelming urge to scratch the guy. Jeanne's hysterical cries began to deafen her ears. It echoed throughout her room. Although she didn't plan for the men to start hurting Jeanne, the plan was going through its course. Their mastermind was distracted and Jeanne was getting closer to the exit. The next phase of their plan is up for completion.

Ignoring the numbing pain she was beginning to feel in her head, she took a deep breath to compose herself. But everything broke when she heard another agonizing shriek from Jeanne.

"_Obtenez vos mains de sur elle! Laissez-la tranquille! Je vais te tuer! Je jure devant dieu, si vous posez un doigt sur elle, Je vais te couper! __Ne joue pas avec moi, fils de pute. Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d'enculé de ta mère!_" Darcy snarled ferociously. "_Quand je reçois mes mains sur toi, je vais vous castrer avec une cuiller, salaud! Alors je vais te faire manger vos boules putain. Je vais vous détruire, vous con. Je vais vous détruire!_" The man continued to laugh at her, not minding her shouts of the filthiest insults she never thought she'd say. "Papa will make you pay! You stupid fox! You'll regret this!"

The man stopped pulling hair and coldly dropped her head on the ground. Darcy glared at him as he made his way in front of her. He dropped to her level, pointing the barrel of his gun to her cheek. "All I need is the Diamond, _mademoiselle_… Why don't you behave for a little bit and wait for your pathetic Papa? Just shut up and wait… is that too much to ask?"

"You will never get it," Darcy grimaced, "You don't know who you're messing with! You'll be the one begging and crying for messing with me!"

"What are you going to do to me?" the man leered, "Glare at me to death?"

While glaring at him, she dug through her pockets to get two pieces of cloth balls. She had prepared it before Jeanne woke up by tearing the cotton cloth from her coat and rolled it into small balls tied with strands of her hair. They were not enough to protect her ears from the high pressurized whistle, but it should keep her eardrums from shattering.

Sticking the cotton balls into her ear, she smirked at the guy. With the loudest voice she can possibly scream, she yelled, "JEANNE! GO!" then covered her ears.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Jeanne felt like all of the water in her body was coming out of her eyes. She had never cried so much in her life and she had never imagined crying because of a situation like this. Her heart dropped when the man turned his hand towards her forehead, threatening to shoot her. The feeling of dreading death was utterly horrifying. Her lungs ceased to function when the guy asked for his pistol. She knew it. She was going to die.

At that moment, she felt Darcy squeezed her hand tightly, and yelled 'Stop!' in French. When she started speaking in French and started saying nonsense that she was target, she quickly realized. She realized the real truth of this escape scheme. Darcy will pretend to be Jeanne Delattre so that she can escape. She wanted to hit herself for not realizing it sooner. This plan that Darcy has concocted… it was only meant for one person. Darcy never included herself.

She gave her a warning look, reminding her to stick to the plan.

"She is just a classmate," Darcy said, "She offered me a ride to the airport when there was no space in my limousine. Do not hurt her."

_What are you saying Darcy?! You're the one who gave me the ride!_

The scary man stood up and cackled maniacally. "Did you see that guys? I told you I'll find out who the daughter is." His men laughed with him. "Glad to see that you're cooperating, Ms. Delattre," he said to Darcy. She felt Darcy squeeze her tighter.

_I'm Ms. Delattre! Oh my god, Darcy, you sneaky little—you planned this all along!_

"Do not hurt her," Darcy glared, "I'm the one you want. Let her go."

Jeanne wanted to yell out stop to everyone. She wanted the man to stop laughing like a psycho. She wanted Darcy to stop lying for her. She wanted to stop all the madness. She was an active volcano waiting to erupt. Is this why Darcy told her to shut up so many times?

"Let her go? _Let her go_?" the man continued to laugh, "Why would I let your little friend leave? She has seen our faces… and I don't like witnesses."

Jeanne's blue eyes contracted like saucers as the man went to grab his pistol. She felt Darcy throw her body over her, protecting her. She couldn't say anything but shiver like a lost puppy. She just cried and cried as Darcy tried to hold her close, ignoring the pain as the man pulled her hair. Then her heart started palpitating quickly when she felt two pairs of strong hands grabbing both of shoulders, yanking her away from Darcy's hold. Jeanne let out an instinctive shriek, jerking back and forth to release herself from the two men. Darcy let out a pained wail as the guy pulled her away by her hair. Jeanne extended her hysterical cries as the men carried her away from Darcy.

The plan was actually working, a big surprise to Jeanne. Their mastermind was actually preoccupied and his two henchmen are actually bringing her close to the formulated exit. But at the same time, she felt thoroughly heavy and painful as if barbed wire was constricting her guts. She did not like how this plan was only for her. Jeanne let her tears fall down more, yelling an agonized cry; she was absolutely bare of any plausible idea of what to do.

At that instant, she heard Darcy shouting in French. She flinched with every single word she was hearing. It was utterly crude, and somewhat violent threats Jeanne never thought she'd be able to say to someone.

"I think we should stop here," one of the man mumbled, "Boss didn't really say anything but pull her away from the Ambassador's daughter." The other man nodded and they simultaneously dropped Jeanne to the floor. She scanned her surrounding, finding out that the exit was just a few meters away. The two men turned around and stood on their guarding stance.

"Are we going to kill her?" the other man murmured. Jeanne inhaled sharply.

"I don't know. I left my gun back there…" the man nervously chuckled, "I only have my—

"Moron!" his comrade slapped him on the head, "Why the hell would you leave your gun?"

"JEANNE! GO!" they suddenly heard. They were about to rush off to their boss when suddenly they realized.

"Who's _Jzawn_?"

"I don't know."

"Wait. Where's the kid?"

The two turned around at the same time to see Jeanne, already with her headphones on. She didn't dare to look up to meet her captors and immediately raised her wrist and turn the crown of the watch. A shrill whistle shook the entire warehouse. Jeanne could feel the vibrations from her arm. The two bulky men in front of her dropped like flies, their hands quickly gluing over their ears to stop the noise. The other men in the warehouse dropped too and so did their boss. Jeanne couldn't believe the thing actually worked. _Just what kind of watch is this?_

Forcing herself to stand up, she looked around for Darcy. The girl was on the floor like everybody else, inanimate. She felt her heart stopped at the sight. Running quickly to her, she sniveled. The girl was sprawled over the cold stone floor, her long curly hair disheveled and dirty. Darcy's body was clamped in a fetus position, her eyes clutched together. A pained expression covered her face, her dirtied hands hanging limply over her ears. Jeanne knelt down quickly, and shook her while sobbing. "Darcy, Darcy, come on let's go, we have to escape," the girl was still not moving, "Oh my god, Darcy, I'm not leaving without you, wake up! Wake up! DARCY!" She jerked her limp body back and forth desperate for a response.

"Jeanne," Darcy's voice whimpered. Her dark eyebrows contracted together, eyes still squeezed close. She must be in pain. "Go…"

"No, Darcy! We have a plan! We're sticking to it! Come on, get up," Jeanne sputtered, shaking her body. The comatose girl breathed out weakly, growing limp and unmoving.

She slowly exhaled and floated back to unconsciousness. "This was always the plan, Jeanne."

At that moment, she heard a weak groan from behind. Her eyes widened as she sees her captors slowly drift back to consciousness. But Darcy was still unconscious.

_I have to hide her. I have to get help._

Gathering all her strength, she grabbed the sleeping girl under her shoulders and dragged her to somewhere safe. She couldn't possibly drag the dead weight on her arms all the way to the marina so she scanned the area for potential hiding spots. With all her power, she pulled Darcy's body towards the farthest and most concealed cargo container in the warehouse. Pulling the door opened, she hauled her body inside. She rested her body carefully far inside the container and left Darcy something to protect herself, in case she woke up. Jeanne retrieved the weapon from one of the guards, thinking it might help. Silently placing the device beside the body, she braced herself to run. After closing the doors, she found the men already sitting up. Putting the headphones over her head again, she activated the whistle again. The men dropped like flies again, all screaming in excruciating pain done by the high-pressurized sound. Inhaling deep breaths, she turned towards the exit. Darcy's words rung in her head, echoing as she sprinted with all her might.

_Run, Jeanne. Don't look back and just run._

* * *

oOo

* * *

At the second the plane doors descended, Tony, Pepper, Happy and Rhodey immediately went out. Thunder rumbled throughout the dark night as ominous clouds slowly moved above them. Rain was coming but they all knew that there was no time to waste.

"Coast Guard's waiting by the dock, Tony," Rhodey informed him as Happy went to get the car. Pepper stood behind him nervously, as Tony only gave attention to his phone. He tapped his foot impatiently as the red dot on the screen began to move.

"Darcy's on the move." Tony murmured. Pepper breathed out a relief sigh. A sleek black car skidded in front of them and Pepper immediately slid herself inside. She expected for Tony to go in with her but she only watched as he walked the other way and stop in front of the driver. Happy questioningly open the door and asked, "Tony, come on, get inside."

"I'm driving," he simply stated. Happy gaped at him

"W-what?" he stammered.

"Harold, get off the car," he said in a harder tone. Flabbergasted, Happy swiftly glided off the driver seat and went to sit next to Pepper. Staying silent, Tony got in the car, and revved it, cueing Rhodes to get in. The Colonel slid inside, and swiftly put on his seatbelt, not bothering to ask any more questions.

Tony growled to himself, as he stepped to accelerate. He drove as fast as he can, skillfully swerving left and right of the traffic. No one dared to stop him.

Why does it have it to always rain?

* * *

oOo

* * *

_Right…_

_Straight ahead…_

_Right…_

_Left… Straight…._

_Oh my god, dead end. _

Panting incessantly, she leaned her body against the surface of a brick wall. Groaning in exasperation, she looked back to her former route to see if anyone was following her. The brooding alleyways were dark and winding but she found no people lurking about. She sighed in relief. The kidnappers would be pretty much powerless after receiving her offense. She wondered how bad they must have looked after waking up with their ear drums completely shattered. She couldn't have possibly been able to escape without the watch.

The watch... without a single doubt, Jeanne knew she'd still be inside the dirty warehouse without it. Truly, the device was a genuine representation of pure ingenuity. She has never thought that a simple watch could be turned into some kind of super-spy gadget, but it was right there around her wrist. Pondering, she knew Darcy was smart, dominating on the genius-level. She had seen the girl make little contraptions in class. But to own this complex device, Darcy couldn't have it made using a kit of screwdrivers. Jeanne had come to the conclusion that somebody else made this watch—somebody even smarter than Darcy Lewis. But she somehow can't put a name on it.

While shaking her head to ward off unnecessary thoughts, she looked down on the device to get directions. A bright ruby red dot blinked over and over again on the small screen, indicating her location. She needed to find a shorter way to get to the waters. With Darcy unconscious, she was determined to find and get help. A flash of guilt washed over her. Darcy has helped her so much. Of all the years that she lived to harass the girl, waking up every day to badmouth her, Jeanne still couldn't fathom the idea of Darcy sacrificing herself for her. She did nothing but insult her. She even masterminded the bullying of Ivy Nguyen. So why in the world would Darcy even think about helping her?

In the back of her mind, she wondered why she even started living as Darcy's tormentor. It all started with Alex Mayr. Jeanne was head-over-heels about him. After knowing that she was a Special-Star like him, a similarity she can never have, she was envious. Then that envy slowly evolved to another kind of jealousy that Darcy was able to acquire all the privileges with just her wits. Darcy never needed money or fancy things. She just used her brain and it has rewarded her great things. Great things Jeanne knew she would never have. Then she had a loyal best friend that stood by her side always. Jeanne wanted a friend like that. Sure, she had two friends but that bond was only linked by her financial background. She grew up with the notion that all rich people should be together with other rich people. So it was only natural for her to obtain the same obnoxious, supercilious friends like herself. Succumbing to the inclined thirst for more power, and fame, her group enlarged as she exposed herself to lavish parties and gatherings. Darcy, on the other hand, was content with only having one friend, who was not even rich compared to Jeanne's social circle. They laughed together, helped each other out like real friends should always be. Jeanne was first annoyed at the sight of those two. They were both complete exemplifications of social gracelessness—a middle-class denizen and a good-for-nothing nerd—and yet they still managed to stay together. That sheer vexation of their friendship later developed to become another branch of her jealousy. She had everything, the money, the luxury, all present at the snap of her fingers. But somehow, Darcy looked the happiest.

Jeanne didn't want seeing that kind of unconditional happiness. She didn't want to live it vicariously. If she can't have it, then no one can. She needed to destroy that happiness. The sight of Darcy all alone fed her satisfaction. By taking Ivy, solitude crept slowly upon Darcy, turning her more to a social outcast. People ignored her, made fun of her, alienated her. Darcy would've thought that she was brought to a place where her talents should be glorified, but Jeanne made sure that her power would be the one to take her down.

However, Darcy still remained, well, like Darcy. Even without a friend by her side, she still laughed and smile. She ignored all the harassments by reading books. She would always go down to the library and discuss happily with the librarian. She would even have conversations with Alex about music. It was as if nothing wrong happened. Even after Ivy moved away to another school, Darcy still remained strong by herself. So Jeanne continued her relentless verbal attacks hoping to induce a different reaction from her but Darcy would always shut her down with sarcastic remarks. She only used her mouth to fight back and nothing more. She never did anything to get back at Jeanne, which perplexes the French girl even more. Then later on, as time progressed, it became a daily routine for the two of them to wage verbal wars. An awkward relationship has sprouted between the two of them, stepping upon the basis of Jeanne's jealousy and pride. But was that even enough for Darcy to go this far? Has she considered her a friend after all this time? Has Jeanne become a friend that Darcy would risk her life to?

Gathering enough energy, Jeanne managed to catch a few breaths to prepare for another sprint. She pulled her coat closer over her chest to combat the November cold. She may not know the reason for Darcy's noble act. She may not have the same strong willpower as Darcy. But she will do everything in her power to save her. She has to move now—and fast.

"Whoa, that is _some_ watch, huh?" she suddenly heard. The hairs on the back of neck straightened even more as chills snaked down her spine. Her stomach churned just as though she had swallowed a tornado. Her heart refused to beat. Her lungs declined to breathe. She gulped loudly and shivered.

_This is it._

_They caught me._

_I'm going to die. _

"You know, I thought I was too late. I got here as fast as I could. Man, this place is a labyrinth," the voice said, "Then you escaped by yourself and you are all dirty and dark, it's hard to spot you. Good thing you got to this dead end… makes my job easier to find you." The sound echoed through her ears clearly as if the guy was right behind her. It was as though the man was peering over shoulder.

But it was impossible. She was at a dead end.

Without thinking, she quickly pushed her sleeve up to turn on the whistle on the watch. Her mind scrambled as she turned the crown counterclockwise. But nothing happened.

_My 20 seconds were up. _

_I'm gonna die. _

"Is that how you escaped? With that watch?" the voice asked in her ears, "Interesting tech, you have there… I guess it's not working anymore? Battery exhausted?"

The voice behind her had a tone of indifference. It was so conversational and casual that Jeanne found it more horrifying. But no, she can't get caught again. Darcy had sacrificed so much for her to go this far. She needed to get help and no one should stop her. Slowly closing her left hand slowly to fist, she prepared herself to attack. She was perfectly aware that a silly punch from her wouldn't exactly render a grown man unconscious but it should throw the guy off-course for a second. A second was the only thing Jeanne needed to run away.

Twisting her body ninety-degrees, she swung her left arm to jab the guy's face behind her. Her blue eyes widened when her fist met nothing but air. No one was there behind her but darkness. She immediately scanned her surroundings to find the guy but he was nowhere to be found.

"You got a mean swing there, little kid," she heard, "You could've hurt me." Swerving around, she heard the noise come from somewhere on top of the buildings. She saw nothing but black as the night cloaked his figure. Something didn't make sense. She felt like the guy was literally just behind her and yet he was all the way on top of the dark building.

"I'm pretty good at swinging, not to brag. I could show you."

Completely scared, she decided to make a run for it. If the guy was on top of the high building, he wouldn't be able to catch up with her right? Whimpering, she started to dash.

"Whoa, wait! Where are you going? Hey, come back. I have to bring you back!" the man yelled at her. Jeanne ignored him and continued on running. Run, run and run. That's all she needed to do.

Then all of the sudden, she felt something grab her by her shoulders. The hold was not tight and constricting but she surely felt it. She screamed loudly as she started moving backwards. She tried to run again, but something was holding her back, pulling her in the darkness. Another yelp escaped her throat when her feet quickly left its place on the ground.

Jeanne closed her eyes and began to thrash her arms around and kicked her feet wildly to free herself of her captor's hold. A mixture of her earsplitting screams and shrilling cries echoed throughout the brick walls of the buildings as she tried to fight her way to freedom.

"I suggest you stop moving if you don't want to fall face flat to the ground," the man huffed as he snaked his dark arm around her waist, earning another shriek from Jeanne. She then felt a rush of cold air gushing through her hair. The wind breezed through her face, and her ears began to hurt because of the temperature. She didn't dare to open her eyes. A slight whimper croaked out of her as she sensed that she was going higher up the sky. Another scream echoed then when she experienced a drop in her chest as though gravity was pulling her down. It became a cycle, the climb in altitude and the drops as if she was going up and down a twisting, gut-wrenching roller coaster. She saw it as some sick joke that her captor has decided to torment her off. She had the notion that she was grabbed by a man in a helicopter, swinging her body up and down to mess with her mind. Maybe they planned for her to go crazy before they drop her body coldly to the ground.

The cycle continued for minutes, and Jeanne was getting tired of screaming her heart out. She let her arms fall down weakly. Fatigue has lingered through her muscles, and her mind was weary. Desperation and defeat flooded her psyche, thinking that everything was over. She will never be saved. Darcy would never be saved. Her stomach began to constrict and twist, wondering if it was hurt because of the jumps or the overwhelming guilt of being useless. She let her tears fall down in defeat. The harsh wind muffled her sobs as she shook her head.

"Please…" she whimpered against the breeze, "Please let me go…"

She heard no answer from the man. The wind merely howled in reply.

"I just want to see my Papa again…"

"And you'll see him again… don't worry," the voice surprised her. It was shockingly gentle and soothing. It became even more surprising when she felt her two feet touch a solid surface. The feeling was unanticipated, gasping as her knees gave out. Two warm hands scooped her up and softly supported her up. Her shivering hands reach intuitively for balance, dropping them upon the man's arms. Her eyebrows contracted in confusion. Strange material touched the pores of her fingertips. The feeling was not common. His arms were strangely covered in some kind of rough fabric, plotted with little indents, Jeanne recognized as mesh. Curious, she slowly lifted her lids to see the man that captured her.

A flash of white light blinded her at first. Her blue eyes looked up to see the lights towering over her like stadium lights over a wide football field. It felt like decades, being inside the shadows of the dark, that she forgot the warmth of light. There were cargo containers everywhere, all lit up with bright metallic colors. A huge crane hovered above her, its yellow hue contrasting against the pitch black night. Her ears twitched as she heard the cries of seagulls flying above her. The briny smell of the river whiffed through her nose. Faint sounds of water crashing over the docks filled her ears. She couldn't believe it. She was where she needed to be.

"I am at the marina…" she gasped. Her pale hands reached up to cover her mouth, to hold back another sob. Her face and hands felt so cold, oh how her skin longing for warmth.

"You're safe now," the gentle voice said. Her head whipped to the source and she gasped loudly. This man was her savior.

As the light shined over the dark countenance of the man, a crimson red suit squatted in front of her. . Long, thin black lines enveloped his suit mimicking the geometrical arrangements of a spider-web. Navy blue patched his back, arms, and legs. A red and black mask veiled his face. Gold and blue hues fought over dominance on his off-white eyes. He cocked his head to the side as Jeanne stared at the very well-known spider emblem on his chest. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. The amount of bizarre she had experience tonight… it was too unbelievable.

"FREEZE!" Jeanne flinched when she heard someone shout, "PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"

More lights entered her vision, blinding her. Jeanne squinted her eyes to look through the multitude of flashlights. She counted five darkly uniformed men treading towards them with pistols.

"Great, I go save a kidnapped girl and they point guns to my face," she heard him sigh, "Can't a guy get a break?"

"I said hands up, web-head," one of them ordered, Jeanne assumed as the squad's leader, "No one told you to intrude on an active case."

Spider-man sighed again. He rubbed the back of his neck and sulked, "No one told _you _to kill the mood. I was just having my superhero moment here."

"Hands up, menace," the older man huffed, pointing his gun higher. The masked man raised his red hands up, sighing again.

"You've been reading too much tabloids, Chief," he grumbled, "I just saved a whole squadron of your troops from getting mutated two months ago, and I helped catch a bank robber last week, and I just saved this girl and you guys treat me this way? I feel the love, guys, I feel it."

"That girl you just saved is the French Ambassador's daughter, so I suggest you move away before I pull this trigger, Spidey," the man hissed. Jeanne sensed the masked guy inch away in to the darkness then a familiar voice shouted for her.

"Jeanne?! _Cherie?!_" a deep voice boomed. Jeanne looked around to search for the voice then a lanky man shoved his way in between the officers in front of her. His iron-grey hair seemed more ashen than usual, unruly. His blue eyes quivered as he kneeled down in front of her. Tears rolled down Jeanne's face. She has never been so happy to see his face. "Papa!" she shouted, throwing her body towards her father. Soft, comfortable arms wound around her, clutching her close to carry her. Jeanne cried and cried as the man held her head tenderly, soothing her. The Ambassador stood up, and started carrying her towards the Coast Guards' boats, where Jeanne's mother waited patiently. The fair-haired woman made her way out of the boat as fast she could to get her daughter.

"_Mon amour_, Jeanne! Oh my god, you're here. You're okay," the mother whimpered as she grabbed her from the Ambassador. She embraced her tightly, shedding her own tears, "My sweet baby… my sweet, sweet Jeanne. I love you."

"Thank you, officers. If it weren't for all of you, my daughter wouldn't be saved," the Ambassador turned around to shake hands with the police, "All for this for the Hope Diamond..."

"We have received a call that 13-year old girl has been kidnapped to here. If my partner hasn't come across to your missing person report, we wouldn't have been able to know that it was your daughter, Mr. Ambassador. Not to mention the ransom that was just sent out." the old man nodded.

"Who called it in?" he asked.

"Colonel Rhodes. He's a great man. Met him once on a weapons conference. I don't know how he knew though but it doesn't matter now. Your daughter is safe." The man replied, "We also had an accident on the way to LaGuardia Airport where a limousine has been devastatingly crashed. Security camera and witnesses have reported seeing your daughter go in this car. The chauffeur was badly hurt but stable but there were no passengers found."

"Hey, thanks for taking the credit, Chief," a voice interjected. It came from the top of one of the containers. Spider-man sat on the edged, his shoulders slumped. The police officers pointed all their guns up to him but the Chief waved them off. "I thought you left already."

"It's a beautiful Friday night, Chief. I thought you and I can have a little dinner later," Spider-man joked, "Just kidding. I wouldn't have dinner with you. You'll eat all the food."

"Why, you little bas-

"Spider-man!" Jeanne suddenly yelled, breaking away from her mother's embrace to run towards the container he perched on, "You have to go back!"

Jeanne wanted to hit herself again. She almost forgot. She got too caught up with all the happiness that she forgot. How could she have forgotten?

"Does everybody want me to leave that badly?" the man dropped his head playfully. Jeanne shook her head.

"Darcy…" she swallowed, going closer, "You have to save her!"

All of the heads turned towards her, all shocked.

"There's another one?!" Spider-man yelled back, standing up.

"You have to go back and save her. Please!" she cried, "She's unconscious a-and—

"I'll go." The masked hero stated as he inserted new web fluid in his web shooters.

"Wait!" Jeanne yelled, stopping him from jumping off back to the darkness. The man waited for her as she stepped closer to the container he perched on. Everyone watched her pulling up her sleeve to take off a watch. She raised her hand up high, and yelled loudly.

"T-this watch. It's Darcy's! She gave it to me so I can escape." Then she got a glance of a white, sticky, stringy substance shooting towards her. She closed her eyes in defense, but soon opened it as she felt the object that she was holding was recoiling back to him. Spider-man examined that watch for a moment then put slid the watch around his wrist and prepared a stance.

Slowly walking backwards, he waved goodbye to everyone before setting off.

"I'll find your friend and give this to her, and maybe we can share some how-to-escape-your-kidnapper tactics. Don't worry, I won't be long, Chief. Don't miss me."

At that moment, Chief took out his walkie-talkie and began sputtering codes. "This is Chief Vitalis. There has been another report of a possible victim. I repeat, there is another victim. Requesting back up and Medivac, ASAP"

_Sir, we only have been ordered for an extraction. It has been strictly advised that we get the girl and leave, _a voice replied.

"The situation has changed, boy. Take everyone there and get all your asses here." He grumbled as he wiggled his fingers. All the men behind him began to close around him, armed with rifles. "Are we clear, over?" No response transmitted back.

"Officer Dale, do you copy, over?" he asked. Someone replied but it was a different voice.

_Chief Vitalis, this is Colonel James Rhodes of the Weapons Department of the US Army. I only ordered an extraction, Chief. Why are you sending troops out?_

The man gasped. He didn't expect the Colonel to be there. What the hell was happening on the other side of river?

"Our victim here has reported that her friend is back there, unconscious. We need to—

_Hey! Wait, hold a minute. Aargh. Son of a bitch, you need to calm yourself. _

"Excuse me?" the Chief asked incredulously. Everyone was watching him talk, listening.

_I'm sorry, Chief, that wasn't meant for you. It's just that—No, you cannot have the phone. I have this under control. I can talk to them. No, it's okay. Stop worrying. They just found her friend. Stop—TONY!_

Everyone waited as the sound of the walkie-talkie getting thrashed around. Crashing, and static sounds escaped through the Chief's speakers. Shouts of a woman yelling joined then too. Then it stopped.

_Where's the girl?_

The voice changed again, confusing everyone. It was deep and a streak of grave seriousness laced the voice's tone. It oozed an overwhelming aura of authority, even if it was just a voice from the walkie-talkie. The Chief couldn't help but stutter back.

"Who is this?"

_I asked first. Where's the girl?_

The man didn't answer back and just helplessly looked around. The voice was just so heavy and serious that it brought a tinge of fear to everyone's system. Slightly shaking, he stepped slowly towards Jeanne and held out the device. She gulped loudly, also scared by the deep voice, and took it.

"H-hello?" she whimpered.

Silence.

Jeanne coughed then spoke again with more clarity, "Hello?"

_You're not Darcy. _

Jeanne's eyes widened. The person on the other end knows Darcy. She didn't know if he was her Dad or a relative but the tone in his voice indicated that he knew her. He also knew that Darcy wasn't the one saved. Her hands gripped the walkie-talkie tightly. How can she tell the man that Darcy has been left alone with the kidnappers, unconscious?

_Where's Darcy?_

Jeanne's eyebrows contracted again, knitting together in guilt. Her knees felt weak again.

"I—She- plan- escape- I- went—and—she—" she stuttered.

A string of curses escaped through the speakers. Everyone winced as each death threat was mixed with venomous promise. Jeanne flinched as how a chain of words could be so violent. It was like when Darcy started cursing out the Black Fox. Then it stopped after a woman's voice began to talk to him. With a cautious sigh, the voice spoke again.

_Where's the watch?_

Jeanne gulped. The person knew of the watch. The watch that helped her escape. The watch that should've helped Darcy escape, not her.

_I know you have it. Where is the watch?_

"I-I don't have it," she croaked out, trembling, "I gave it to Spider-man…"

_Who? Who the hell is Spider-man?_

"H-he went—" she stammered, "He went to save Darcy."

Another sequence of curses rang out wildly through the phone's speakers. Jeanne gave the device back to the Chief, frightened of the violent threats coming out. If words could kill, she would've have exploded by now.

But it doesn't matter now. Jeanne stared up in the sky where her masked hero branched on. Spider-man has left. He can surely save Darcy. He can go beat up the kidnapper and catch them. She can breathe a little easier now. Darcy can be saved.

At that point, a flicker of thought jumped into her mind. Darcy has given her the watch so she could escape. She gave her the headphones to protect herself. She threw dirt on her face so that the kidnappers wouldn't recognize her. She took her place, all for Jeanne's safety. Her lips flattened. Nothing would ever make her forget this night. Not time, not anyone. Tonight, Darcy was the real hero.

"Today was her birthday, Papa…" she whispered as she felt her parents walked behind hers. She felt two warm hands drop on her shoulders. Her father pulled her close while her mother held her hand endearingly. She didn't look at them, and merely enjoyed the sensation. The feeling of warmth and security flooded her system. She hoped Darcy would feel the same. "I didn't even get her a present."

"_Hearing you apologize was a good enough birthday present from you."_

Jeanne didn't even get her anything. She never gave anything nice to Darcy.

"_Ivy made it. She gave it to me for today."_

Even the hat… Darcy even gave her birthday present to Jeanne.

"_I know it's not your taste but you know how it is. It's going to be cold outside…" _

She felt a cool breeze fly through her hair as she pulled Darcy's hat from her head. Her fingertips felt the soft fabric. It was truly an example of true craftsmanship. The design was flawless and it matched Darcy's personality well. She regretted ridiculing it. She clutched the hat tightly.

…Fate was such a cruel thing.

A moist, wet sensation came through her palm. Confused, she raised her hand to look at it.

…Today was supposed to be a happy day.

Upon her pale, shivering hand was such an egregious color. So ominous… Jeanne whimpered as she stared at the red fluid staining her palm. Frantic, she touched the other parts of hat. More red tainted her skin.

She touched the crown of her head, expecting more blood to come but she felt nothing but her hair. She wasn't hurt. She wasn't hurt. Looking at her tainted hands again, she sobbed.

"This is not my blood…"

…People say that life is full of roses and thorns.

But this time, Jeanne had the roses, and Darcy took all of the thorns.

* * *

_**Longest... chapter... ever...** I'm sorry if it's so long, I didn't where to stop. Please don't hate me. _

_Also, I'm really bad at describing things so if some things are kinda iffy, please pay no mind to it._

_I had to throw in a little bit of the Seven Deadly Sins in there (if no one have noticed already) because i was having writers block. Jeanne possessed pride for her wealth, avarice or greed for attention and material possessions, the lust for power, envy of people's happiness, glutton/over-indulgence for more things (notice how she -just- had to have all those luggage in her car), sloth because she failed to do what she was supposed to do (entirely helpless on her own), wrath for Darcy and Ivy._

_Darcy was there to show her selflessness, the power of knowledge, the sense of justice, benevolence and sacrifice, persistence and effort, mercy, kindness and integrity, bravery and humility._

_A little theme of dark and light, the good and the bad, happiness and sadness, fear and courage and redemption._

_I know it's kind of cliche, but as I have mentioned before... damned writer's block._

_And the OTP poll. It seems that people would like to see more of Steve/Darcy so I will be writing that. After I write that, I will also write about Clint/Darcy and Loki/Darcy as kind of alternate endings to avoid disappointments. _

_Another thing... I found a timeline about how all the Marvel should play out leading to the Avengers. Apparently, Thor, Iron Man 2, and Incredible Hulk happened on the same freaking week  Nick Fury had one hell of a week, realizing that. This is completely different from my story timeline a bit, but I will be sticking to it, regardless of Marvel's timeline. So expect Iron Man to come out after the next two chapters..._

_And thank you for the reviews. They mean a lot... glad to know I'm not writing 17k worded chapters to an invisible audience._


	15. Electrifying

_I am sorry for the late update. I procrastinated so much during the summer and I was over-encumbered with heaps of essays and papers for the first day of school. I only started writing three days ago then someone reviewed that I was taking too much time to do an update so I got scared and just started writing. I'm so sorry if it's too long again, I have too much shit to say. I pictured this scene to be so short but it expanded to something bigger. This could've been over 20,000 words if I didn't learn to stop. Don't hate._

* * *

**Electrifying**

"Happy 13th Birthday, Darcy!" everybody greeted, their voices enveloped with glee and excitement. She was sitting on her usual red bar stool in the kitchenette of her room. White birch walls surrounded her. The clear cerulean Pacific sky gave light to the smiles of the people around her. She grinned. Pepper was there in front of her, with a huge toothy smile while holding a large rectangular cake. Thirteen white candles adorned the surface, glimmering. Chocolate cake, topped with strawberries. Her favorite.

Tony's warm hands dropped on her shoulders. She looked up to see him with his usual grin, his soothing eyes smiling upon her. Her Uncle Happy was there carrying boxes of gifts and glittered blue party hat perching on his head. Rhodey was there holding a camera. She smiled.

"Make a wish, kiddo," she heard Tony say as Pepper set down the cake in front of her. His voice was low and calm, the perfect tone that shed warmth in her hears. Pepper took the seat next to her and gently dropped her hand over hers, squeezing it softly. She smiled widely as she fiddled her thumb over her porcelain skin. Ivy was there too, her face cupped by her hands, beaming. Stan was there with a grin and even Alex with his violin. Even Jeanne, with that confident smile, sat beside Darcy. Nothing could ever spoil this moment. She was with everyone she loved, she cared for and everyone was there to spend her birthday with her.

Closing her blue eyes slowly, she leaned in to her cake and thought of a wish. It was the same for every year._ I wish that nothing can ever change. Let me be this happy for the rest of my life._

With one big huff of breath, she blew all the candles. She heard everybody clap and cheer for her. The content feeling was fulfilling. Darcy wanted to tingle in glee. As if bubbles were contained inside her chest, floating in happiness. She wanted nothing but to succumb to the tender affection her loved ones continue to bask her. It was a wish, surely something so banal, a feeling that exuded jadedness, yet so cherishing, so precious she never wanted to let go.

"Oops, you left one candle there, honey," a voice said. The voice was of a woman, soft like a whisper. It was unrecognizable yet a small tinge of familiarity crept her mind as if her mind was a vast somber cellarage of memories, and that voice was the burning ember of a candle, inhaling and exhaling for a hint of life. She opened her eyes reluctantly, turned to see that everybody was gone. A calming hand left absent over hers, and nobody was holding her shoulders anymore. Pepper and Tony weren't there. She looked around. No one was there. Her former company disappeared like a gust of atmospheric ethereality in the air like the wistful smoke from the candles of her cake. Everyone was gone.

"Come on, Darcy. There's one left." The voice lulled again. It was a voice full of honey, enticing her little ears to pull towards the sweet sound. Darcy twisted her gaze slowly to see the source of the mellifluous voice, heart thumping with curiosity and taciturn suspense. She blinked her eyes to see an unknown woman sat with one elbow propped on the table. The woman rested her cheek on her hand, cocking her head at the little girl and smiled weakly. Darcy couldn't help but contract her body together, shoulders closing in, her hands clasping together. She was being shy again, which was quite rare compared to her past experience. Timidity only comes to her when something unprecedented happens. When a moment comes with exceeding novelty, Darcy instinctively releases this mechanism, as a way to gather her thoughts and data. Like her first day, the experience was entirely new to her she didn't know how to cope. She later developed her own little ritual, which she follows so religiously, when the moment arrives: the watch. Now, this unforeseen encounter with this unfamiliar woman came with her unheard voice. Slowly, Darcy reached for her left wrist to grasp her watch to conjure any inkling of courage or strength but she only found the texture of her skin. Funny… did she forget to wear her watch?

A soft chuckle distracted her from her thoughts. The lady was there with a sweet grin plastered on her face, smiling eyes. Those shining azure eyes, with little flecks of yellow on her irises, looked at her with such gentle familiarity Darcy wished she could return but all she did was stare back curiously.

"Already thirteen years old…" the woman crooned, "My little Darcy growing up…"

At that moment, Darcy felt her stomach twist inside. Her legs joined together timidly, eyes staring with nonchalant awe at the woman. It was then she realized. The woman's wavy brunette hair. Those full pink lips. Those cool blue yet warming eyes. Darcy gulped. She never imagined something like this. She wasn't fully prepared. She didn't know what to feel or to say. There was no protocol, whatsoever. Darcy was completely, utterly flabbergasted, and breathless. Oxygen was knocked out her lungs at that moment when she finally saw the dazzling countenance of the person she'd only hear about in the house; the loved protagonist of Pepper's and Tony's fairytales—

"…Mom?" she choked out. Suddenly, air became thinner. Oxygen was running out. She was utterly out of breath. The woman didn't say anything but grin wider.

"Seems like Tony and Pepper are doing a good job. To think you can actually know who I am," Meredith stated, "I'm very glad I'm no stranger at all."

_Not at all. Not at all. _

"You have grown to be such a beautiful girl," the woman commented, "So smart and educated… Tell me, is Tony homeschooling you? I'm sure he'd have at least the decency to protect you from the media."

The woman before her, yes, that woman was her mother. The one who brought Darcy to this world. Darcy has seen a lot of pictures of her. Pepper had a whole album but seeing her in person was a whole new experience. She recalled the time when she went to ask Pepper about all those pictures of a woman inside her room. She was only 3 when she found out that Pepper was not her real mother. Meredith Lewis-McCall. Tony's childhood friend. Pepper's closest friend. Her mother.

"I-I go to a b-boarding school…" Darcy stammered, unsure of what to say. Well, in fact, she had a lot to say. She was over encumbered with so many questions for her. Stories—lots of them. She grew with this small belief that Meredith was some kind of Wonder-woman. Pepper would always tell stories how Meredith led a great independent life by herself in New York; how she took care of her sick mother; how she befriended Pepper. Tony would sometimes let out little snippets of memories he shared with his childhood friend. The laughs. The pranks. The tears. The fights. The romance. It gave her body a slight tingle whenever Tony and Pepper reminisce. Those two were such powerful human beings, who had a grand reputation that no one can exceed. Tony and Pepper were the epitome of power and strength. Like all the machines that Tony built, they remain faultless, unfeeling to the brutal world of business and politics. Like Pepper's godlike efficiency and strong will, they both remain unparalleled, unmatched. But whenever they talk about their special friend, Meredith, a little bit of humanity comes out in their nostalgic smiles. They would never show it to other people, but Darcy was there to witness it all.

However, there was this trace of guilt that filled her fingertips. This guilt has been in her system for a long time, sewed deep within her cells. Besides all the nostalgia and the happiness that her parents conveyed, there was still the fact that there were just simple memories. Memories of a person no longer in this world, and Darcy became the living embodiment of that fact. Darcy was alive, and not her. An unfortunate car crash that led to her sudden death left the little girl full of remorse. She never showed it but the feeling existed. Darcy frowned at the thought. Such a beautiful young woman… she never had to die.

"Boarding school?" the woman asked with a light gasp, "But Tony hates boarding schools…"

"I-In New York, actually…" Darcy stuttered, "The British International School…"

Darcy clenched her wrist tightly. Why is she talking about school with her mother? Of all the things she could talk about with Meredith, school became the topic?

"BIS…" Meredith gasped. Darcy saw her eyes widen at the mention. Then she broke out into a weak chuckle, "Tony… that miserable fool."

The little girl cocked her head to side, confused. Meredith caught it and explained with another smile.

"…I used to tell your father… back when we were just kids. Tony was home from some engineering boarding school. I would always rant to him…" Meredith looked dazed, eyes milky of nostalgia, "That I have always wanted to go that school…"

Darcy couldn't anything but gasp in response. Tony never explained to her why he chose that school in the first place. She was under the notion that the school just had a good security system, that's it. She never knew about this fact.

"But then by the time I got to New York, it was already too late. So I lived the rest of my high school life in some obscure school in Forest Hills." She sighed.

"So I assume you're a Special-Star?" the older woman continued, "The Stark Intelligence gene is quite dominant, you know? It'd be a miracle if you told me you're not a genius."

Darcy smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm one of the two."

"That is fantastic!" Meredith clapped, "I'm so proud of you."

Her heart seemed to have stopped beating. That phrase echoed through her mind like ringing bells. She hears it all the time from her parents. Every time Darcy says or does something, Pepper would always tell her that she was proud of her. But hearing it from her mother… the feeling was indescribable. As if feathers fluttered inside of her. As if an unknown void in her heart was finally filled. As if the heavens was singing to her ears. That phrase—it was music to her ears.

The two exchanged a silent moment for a while, throwing each other meaningful glances and stares. Darcy could feel herself shrink minute by minute. She couldn't bring anything to say to her mother. She didn't know what to talk about. She was also afraid that once she opens her mouth, her rambling wouldn't stop.

But she was content, happy that she's actually there with her real mother. Her presence was enough. Seeing her smile was fulfilling. Hearing her voice was gratifying.

"Happy birthday, Darcy," she rang out, grinning again, "Go on, blow your last candle."

Oh, right, the candle… the cake in front of her stood still, all twelve candles unlit, but one. Truthfully, Darcy didn't want to do it. She was afraid, deep inside in her mind that once she huffs out that last flaming candle, everything before her will wash away like smoke in the air.

"Mom…?" she spoke softly, her blue eyes staring blankly at the burning flame, "Are you leaving…after this?"

She closed her eyes immediately. Darcy was terribly afraid, afraid that Meredith will say yes.

"I still have a lot to talk about…" She muttered, timidly fiddling her fingers together. She didn't want Meredith to go.

"Oh honey…" she heard. Then a soft, tender feeling enveloped her hands under the table. Meredith reached for her cheeks, gently caressing her daughter's skin. Darcy craned her neck more to her mother's hand, enjoying the heartwarming feeling of her hand. She slowly opened her eyes as Meredith cupped both of her cheeks, porcelain fingers stroking the little girl's porcelain skin. The woman smiled weakly, her blue eyes watering. She felt her daughter quiver in her hands, her small pink lips flattening to a frown, the same blue eyes moist. Darcy shivered more, raising her own arms to touch her sweet mother's hands.

"Dad never got to say goodbye, Mom," Darcy added, her voice shaking, "Ma—Pepper—she never _wanted_ to say goodbye."

"Those two are always so strong, Darcy," Meredith crooned; now stroking the little curls of Darcy's hair. "I'm sure they can handle it. Look how far they've gone… Look how far _you_ have gone…"

The woman smiled softly, ocean eyes gazing at her curly hair. Darcy shut her eyes softly as the woman gently caressed her tousled tresses with her long porcelain fingers. The sensation was ameliorating and pleasing.

"You know, back then, I had this dream, a simple daydream, you were still a little baby, so pale and cute. We were in my apartment, and I was carrying you in front of your crib. I can still remember you crying and whining, all unsatisfied with just one bottle of milk. Then I'd tickle you in your little white chin, just like this," Meredith softly stroke little girl's pallid skin, earning giggles and a snort from the girl, "And you'd laugh three times then snort."

"Then I would run my hand over your little head, just like this," she said, running her fingers deep Darcy's hair, "and I dreamed. I dreamed how what you would like all grown up—Oh look at me, I'm tearing up," she chuckled feebly, her azure orbs glistening with miniscule water droplets, "I had this dream that you'd be all grown up, right, just like you are now. Your beautiful curly hair would be down to your waist, just like it is now, and I'd be there. You know? I'd be there, behind you, while you sit on a little white stool. The two of us in front of a mirror… and I would be there, with a brush in my hand and—and I would brush your hair for school. And we'd laugh and laugh because your hair is so curly."

Darcy shook her head violently in her mother's arms. Her bright blue eyes widened to let her tears finally fall. A light sob escaped her throat. Darcy never cries. Not like this.

"Then, stay!" Darcy frowned, her eyebrows knitted. Her heart clenched tightly, she felt chills all over, "Stay here, Mom. Stay here with us."

She felt Meredith's finger rub her tears away. The woman shook her head lightly, slowly dropping her hands from her face, "I'm only here to wish you a beautiful birthday, Darcy."

A loud whimper broke out of Darcy. She felt cold wind touch her cheeks, missing Meredith's touch. Desperate, she grabbed her mother's hands again and forced them upon her cheeks. She sobbed, as she then pushed them over her hair, making her mother's finger comb it. "No, you stay here. _Please. _See, look. Look at this; you're brushing my hair now." Meredith looked at her with grim forlorn eyes, squeezing Darcy's insides more. The little girl helplessly forced her mother's hand to comb her hair, laughing and sobbing at the same. "Isn't that what you wanted? You can brush my hair every day. We'll laugh every day. So Mom, please. Stay."

At that moment, Meredith freed her hands away from Darcy's hold and wound them around her body. Darcy buried her face in her mother's hair, taking the scent of flaming parrots tulips, she'd always see around her house. It was sweet yet bitter. It was soothing yet painful.

"I beg you…" Darcy cried, "Please... stay."

Their embrace grew tighter each second. Darcy could feel her breath in her ears. She quivered frivolously in her arms.

"My sweet, sweet daughter," she lulled, her voice light and shaky, "My beautiful Darcy,"

Darcy realized, but she didn't want to. This was goodbye.

"I'm always here," Meredith whispered, laughing feebly, "I'm always here, Darcy, I'm always by your side. You just don't know, but I'm always watching you. You're never alone, Darcy. I'm always here. You and your father, you two always act like you're the only left in the world. You two bottle everything inside and pretend you're strong and mighty, when inside, you beg for help. Stop that habit, Darcy. Don't burden anything alone. Your father is always there. Pepper is always there. Your friends are always there. I'm always here. Darcy. I'm always here."

"Mom, please." Darcy wailed.

"I love you always, darling," Meredith cooed, "I love you so, so much."

Darcy suddenly felt a cold breeze spread across the room. The windows began to crash open. The doors banged out wide, books flew all over the place. Light started to stretch inside her room, slowly engulfing everything on its way. Darcy froze as Meredith slowly released herself from the embrace. She looked at her daughter with gentle eyes, smiling.

Darcy closed her eyes slowly, seeing the breeze blow out the last candle. She closed her eyes, only left with an evanescent memory of her mother. She took one last whiff of her mother's smell as she leaned in to kiss Darcy's head.

"You take care of this head, Darcy."

The little girl began to have a fit, her heart waiting to explode, her bones trembling, gasping at the sight of her imaginary happiness. The white light of her reverie faded out as darkness came on, succeeding over the shine like plague. She fastened her pained gaze at Meredith's fleeting face, slowly dissolving within the shadows she was sprawled upon. She no longer felt warm with a paralyzing drop in the temperature. She was afraid that if she took one single breath, ice would form in her lungs. The white wooden walls that surrounded began to dissolve into the rusting metal container. The soft carpet dissipated into the tart, stinging cold metal floor. Instead of the chocolate cake she yearned for this day, she saw her shivering hand, no longer pale but darkened by dirt she was dragged on. Pepper wasn't there to smile at her. Tony wasn't there to put his hands on her shoulders. Happy and Rhodes weren't there. Meredith was gone.

All was left was her limp body on the freezing floor.

And pain.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Pulsating. Pounding. Throbbing. Squeezing. Burning. Piercing. Such intensity, the pain, it was numbing. All the pain that could've been possibly suffered by her body gathered in her head. As if a thousand needles stabbed through her skull, drilling into every fiber of her being. She wanted to curl up into a ball, but moving was torture. She wanted to scream but the pain suffocated her. She wanted to cry but her tears stung her skin. She wanted everything. She wanted to see her father's smile. She wanted to feel Pepper's embrace. She wanted Happy's bear hug. She wanted Rhodey's gentle kiss on her forehead. A warm blanket. A hot soup.

She wanted to be home.

It was a wonderful dream she had, but kind of twisted in its own way. Soothing and comforting yet horribly disheartening. It was the perfect scenario of what could've happened today. Big, whopping emphasis on 'could've'. Darcy grumbled inwardly. Was today play-a-sick-joke-on-Darcy day?

Without moving a _millimeter_, Darcy moved her eyes around to fully examine her surroundings. Confusion flooded her mind. A strong overwhelming feeling of déjà vu filled her mind. She was so sure that she'd been in the same place before. The darkness she was in, she was so sure that it already happened. Her mind felt blank, empty. Her eyebrows twitched as she tried to remember how exactly the feeling was so familiar. Vexation was the only thing that she felt.

She remembered leaving her building, seeing Frank. Then she saw Jeanne, and messed with her a little bit. Then she offered the girl a ride to the airport. Darcy exhaled. She wasn't exactly sure why she even did it in the first place. Jeanne was her greatest antagonist, her everyday tormentor. And yet, she still managed being nice to her. Out of all the mean things Jeanne had said and did to her, nothing came out from Darcy but congeniality. She'd have to give Pepper and Tony some props. Good parenting leads to nicer children.

Darcy then remembered Jeanne apologizing to her. Boy, she wished she could replay that scene over and over again. Then Frank swerved inside a narrow road to get off the traffic. Then they crashed.

The car crash. Two men came out of the dark van that stopped in front of them. Darcy shuddered as she recalled one of them grabbing Frank's head and hitting it on the car. Then they ran, but Jeanne and she were too slow. They got to Jeanne first, knocking her out with chloroform. She remembered the guy's death grip around her arms. She remembered flailing around. She remembered fighting.

She remembered getting hit in the head.

The guys were pretty brutal for a kidnapping. The feeling of getting dragged towards inside the van was still fresh to her. Her body can still feel the blunt force hitting the crown of her head. She didn't know what they used. A gun? A fist? Nevertheless, the pain was excruciating. Darcy even had the bad luck to regain consciousness just before the guy was about to throw inside a dark cargo container, slamming her back into slumber again. Whoever handled her was probably having a bad day, huh?

_You and I both, big guy. _Darcy thought.

And now, she probably got a huge bump into her head. A whining noise echoed through her ears. It screeched and screeched, realizing she's been hearing it for awhile now. The sound was so annoying… and confusing. It wrung the bits and pieces of her lucidity out her head, making her more aggravated.

_I need to escape_.

Darcy came to a conclusion that somehow, someone found about her real identity. Who, why, how she was led to that notion was still left unanswered for the fact that Tony's plans are always 99.99% foolproof. For some reason, that 00.01% existed to correct her, and now she has been kidnapped. That's why she needed to escape.

The chance the kidnappers ask for ransom in exchange for the daughter of Tony Stark, she saw nothing but a life filled with controversy and scandals. She would get the unwanted attention that her father feared. Tony would be burdened with countless of interviews and invading questions. Pepper would be encumbered with a million of work and Darcy would never have a chance to live a normal life, the life that Pepper wanted her to have. The one that Meredith wanted her to have.

Meredith. Her mother. People would find about her. The media would be frenzied to find about her name, her life, her relationship with Tony, with Pepper. Darcy just can't let them step over her grave like that. She can't imagine a life like that. She needs to escape to prevent anymore of this fiasco from expanding. There was no time to go cower in a corner and cry for help. Darcy doesn't need anyone getting involved because of her. She doesn't want to trouble Pepper and Tony. She brought this upon herself and she needs to fix it by herself. She even got Jeanne in this as well. No one should get hurt because of her.

_Jeanne._

It took quite a large percentage of her willpower to not scream in agonizing pain when she pushed herself up. Her back throbbed as if a stampede of a thousand animals trampled over her spine. Her vision of the darkness distorted into hazy lines, millions of dots forming over the shadows like static. Tensioned electric shocks buzzed through her head as if someone removed her brain and replaced it with a ball of electricity to bounce incessantly in her skull. Groaning inwardly, she mustered all her strength to force her eyes open more and scanned her surroundings. But the only company she had inside that cold container was pure pitch black darkness.

Confused, Darcy was so sure that Jeanne was thrown here with her.

"Jeanne?" she whispered, while going on all fours. She felt like a frail blind child, lost, patting the ground to find some semblance of another human being. "Jeanne, wake up. Jeanne." She tried again. But no one answered. She continued to grope the floor, maybe Jeanne was still knocked out. But all she felt was the stone metal floor.

Everything clicked. A slight shiver coursed through her spine as she realized it. She remembered overhearing the men talking about some diamond. The memory became crystal clear, the memory of them talking about the French Ambassador.

_They didn't want me. They wanted Jeanne._

Instead of feeling relieved, worry was felt. Jeanne wasn't with her, so it meant that they took her. She completely forgot about the pain she was agonizing over, and curled herself in the corner of the container. She leaned her head over the wall. Her breaths became steady and shallow as she focused on the sounds outside of her metal cage. She listened intently, looking for a hint of Jeanne's voice but all she heard was pained groans and loud curses. Anxiety took over her system. Where was Jeanne?

Taking a deep breath, she paused to just review the situation. Jeanne was out there somewhere and she was stuck here. The people outside should still think she's unconscious, so it'll be a wise move to go and get help. Yes, she'd call for help and concoct a plan to escape. She groaned inwardly when she realized she didn't have a phone. Why would she? She never needed a phone. Tony would easily give her one of Stark Industries, but she never saw a reason why she'd use a phone. Who would she call? Her only friend was Ivy and she doesn't have one. There was Alex but he would never answer. There was no need to have a phone for Tony and Pepper because she had her computers. JARVIS was programmed everywhere with satellite feeds. He was even programmed in her watch.

The watch! Darcy cheered to herself. How could she forget about her trusty watch? With the watch, she can directly contact Tony. Relaxing the muscles of tense body, she raised her left arm.

Darcy never thought that she could frown more deeply than humanly possible. This adds to her list of reasons why she just wanted to be home. Just like the scene from her dream, the watch was gone from her wrist. The feeling quickly enveloped her like a tight chains. The feeling blanketed her like a suffocating sheet. It was familiar but she had never experienced it so extreme. She never felt so alone in her life.

Then she remembered.

That fleeting sense of déjà vu from before, it wasn't déjà vu. She realized that those were actual memories, things that actually happened. Darcy pushed herself more to the corner, letting all her being tightly packed in it. She hugged her knees closely to herself, trying to gather desperate warmth. A weak whimper escaped her throat as she forced herself to remember. Trying to extract all the blank memories from her brain was painful. It added jabbing and piercing pains to her already beat-up head. But she endured.

She remembered waking up before Jeanne. She was still unconscious. She remembered hearing the men. She remembered finding out that they were willing to kill for the Hope Diamond. She remembered quickly making the plan and activating her watch.

_Lewis, why are you talking to your watch?_

She chuckled. Jeanne's reactions were somewhat comforting.

_What do you mean plan? There is no planning here. This is a kidnapping! They kidnapped us because they want something! The most logical thing to do is to wait for the ransom so we can be freed. Papa will be here any minute to help us._

They were planning to kill someone.

_Did you just slap me, Lewis?_

That feeling was awesome.

_They call me the Black Fox._

Darcy's fist clenched. She never had the urge to just claw the face of someone. Never, until she met that fool.

_I'm the one you want. Let her go._

She remembered the face that Jeanne made when she said. It was a mix of what-the-hell-are-you-saying and why-are-you-doing-this-for-me. Darcy could merely shrug the idea. She didn't know why she planned to pretend like Jeanne. She never imagined being the heroic-type in times like this. She never saw herself as the kind to make such a sacrifice. When did she become so noble?

Scenes played out in her head like a movie of what just happened earlier. Jeanne was getting dragged out by two men, and she, herself, were getting pulled by the mastermind by her hair. The process was excruciating. The guy was pulling the hair just over her concussed head. She then remembered cueing Jeanne to release the whistle, and then the more pain that came right after. The makeshift earplugs she made were still in her ears, but it didn't keep her from getting stunned by the sound. At least she could still hear. Her ear drums were still intact. She doesn't know about the people outside. Is that why they were groaning?

A faint memory emerged bringing Darcy up to speed. She was completely dazed after the whistle, like a soldier caught in a flash grenade. Everything then went black after Jeanne dragged her limp body inside this container. She sighed in relief.

A plan, she never thought she'd see to work, went accordingly. Jeanne managed to use the watch. She managed to escape.

Her eyes wandered to and fro, unceasingly, without hope, and in search for any hint of an idea.

"Great," Darcy muttered while looking around, "What now?"

* * *

oOo

* * *

Finding the warehouse was easy. It was the only one with the lights on. The people could be having their own Superbowl game with those bright lights. All they needed were spotlights and they'd be inviting everyone in Brooklyn for a tailgate party. He shook his head at the thought. He had encountered many, many foes stupider than a bag of flour, but these people make that bag of flour look like Stephen Hawking.

"Maybe I can finally prove that human evolution can actually go in _reverse_," he grumbled, as he jumped over the roofs, "It'll be great for my thesis."

He stopped just above the warehouse, glancing around for possible entrances. He walked around nonchalantly on the roof, surprised that there were no guards. Four rows of glass windows were placed on the center, looking like glass casket prisms. He stepped towards one and slightly stuck out his head on an open window for reconnaissance.

"One, two, three… six," he muttered, counting the men below him, "Five testosterone-filled meatheads, and one skinny ass dude." All of them were sprawled on the floor, all their hands over their heads. He cocked his head, as they all groan in unison. Why are they all in the floor like that?

His eyes darted up and down, looking for the girl that Jeanne mentioned. Apparently this Darcy girl was the one who planned the whole escape scheme. He still hasn't met the kid, and he already had an inkling of respect for her. Darcy got into a kidnapping and what was her first instinct? Make an escape plan.

The Jeanne girl had more of a natural response, bawling and crying. But the other girl was already putting up a martyr act. Moreover, she let the Jeanne girl escape not herself. And she did it with just a watch.

_T-this watch. It's Darcy's! She gave it to me so I can escape._

The masked man looked at the watch in his wrist. The thing was surprisingly comfortable, like a sport watch but the design was too impeccable to be one. It could be one of those really expensive luxury watches, for all he knows. The leather was soft yet durable and the tourbillion design was so intricate, he wondered if the girl was rich or something.

"Is this Gucci?" he mumbled.

An insignificant confusion pooled in the back of his mind. When he first saw the watch, it was around the Jeanne girl, and it was glowing blue. The face was all black and it was showing some kind of map. But now, it just looked like a normal, time-telling, not-for-laymen-like-him, luxury watch.

"Wonder if there's a switch…" he grumbled, tapping the watch's glass, but nothing happened. He shook his hand, but nothing happened. Puzzled, he pulled his wrist closer to his face, thinking that it could be opened with voice activation.

"Watch, open."

Nothing.

"Open… watch?"

Nope.

"Open… sesame."

Zilch.

"Abracadabra!"

The sound of failure rang through his ears. He sounded so stupid.

"This is Star Trek Enterpri—I'm so stupid." He groaned, tapping the watch's glass again. Then he realized that he still hasn't tried the crown of the watch yet. Somehow excited, he quickly pulled the crown and turned it. He expected it to be a like a transformer robot, whirring into some kind of gadget but all he did was change the time. Sighing, he pushed the thing back again, slightly aggravated. But he forgot the superhuman strength he possessed, pushing the crown farther back. Then a whirring sound shocked him.

His eyes widened under his mask as the tourbillion dial began to release a weak clanking sound. He watched as a black matted material began to come out of the edges, curved triangles easing towards the center. It pleased the photographer inside him as the watch mimicked the shutter of a camera, completely covering the surface. He tilted his head in confusion as the watch remain black for awhile.

"Oh damn, did I just break this?" he grumbled anxiously, tapping the screen again.

At that instant, the black surface began to glow an aquamarine hue. He leaned his head closed to the gadget, as the center started to pop out letters, and blue arcs to surround it. He scoffed as he stared at the starting screen.

"Huh…" he chuckled, "What kind of name is J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

_I apologize for the disappointment._

"Holy shit!" he yelped, pushing himself back from the window to avoid any attention from downstairs. He landed on his butt painfully as he stuck out his arm, "The watch just talked. It just talked to me."

_As much as I would want to continue our conversation, I believe there are basic protocols at hand._

"You're British." He commented, calming himself. He had seen a lot of advance technology in his recent trip in the Oscorp building, and he did make his own web-shooters. At talking watch shouldn't surprise him. A talking British watch shouldn't surprise him.

_Astounding observation, sir. _

A talking _sarcastic _British watch was surprising him.

_Please state your current whereabouts, sir._

"Uh…" he scratched his head playfully, "On top of a warehouse…?"

_Pertaining to the adversaries present, please state the number._

"This is getting really weird, but I'll play along," he muttered, then he looked back to see the groaning men below him, "I count six."

_Are there weapons visible?_

He looked down and scanned the area. The men were beginning to sit up, still looking dazed. He spotted rifles and pistols all over the floor. "Rifles and handguns," he reported, "Hey, are you going to turn into some kind of robot and destroy those guys?"

_Is Ms. Darcy's location visible?_

"Uh…" he murmured, "I don't see her. She's probably hidden somewhere. Can I go get her now?" The world has gone crazy now, when he realized that he was asking a watch for permission.

_It is highly suggested that you retrieve Ms. Darcy in a complete stabilized manner. One hint of any injury on her skin will, if I should say in verbatim, result your pain tenfold. _

"Overprotective dad? Psychotic mother?" he joked, but the slight indignant pause kind of scared him a bit.

_You also have the responsibility to bring Ms. Darcy to Mount Sinai Hospital as fast as possible. A private doctor will be waiting for her in the emergency room. _

"Mount Sinai?" he asked, confused, "Hey, that's where my Aunt volunteers."

_It is advised that you bring her surreptitiously. This situation must not go on public. _

"What do you mean—

_You can go get her now._

The masked man sighed as the watch automatically opened again back to its usual state. He tapped the screen again to ask any more questions but he found the urge to give up and just follow. This situation was going on all aspects of weird.

"It's a beautiful Friday night, Parker. Don't be a loser and don't go to bed early, Parker. Go hack the police scanner, Parker. Go save the kidnapped girls, Parker. It'll do you some good, Parker." He muttered in vexation as began crawling inside the warehouse. He noticed the men already standing up, looking around in confusion. The thin, lanky beanpole man shouted curses at them, slapping each bulky man on their heads. He drew the conclusion that, that guy might be the mastermind. He sighed in exasperation, sinking himself to more self-deprecation. "You're so stupid, Parker."

"YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS!" he heard the skinny man yell at his minions, "TWO GIRLS. YOU LET TWO LITTLE GIRLS SHOVE YOUR BIG ASSES ON THE DIRT. IGNORANT WHELPS!" He yelled at them more, while he wiped off the dirt on his suit. The men drooped their heads grimly as he continued to bellow at them.

A sudden clash of lightning and thunder boomed in the sky as he entered the premises. He saw the men flinch at the sound. He stifled a chortle at the sight. Such large men, and they're afraid of thunder. Then an idea inspired him. Messing with them shouldn't have any side effects right?

He sought to find a corner in the roof, dark enough to conceal him from his targets. Propping each foot on two walls, he leaned back and locked his sight over the bright lights they used. Seeing the plugs was not hard at all, so it only took him seconds to shoot the cords and pull it out. He did it so each light dimmed out abruptly one-by-one, for dramatic flair. Every time he would see lightning flash over the skies, he'd pull one out. The grin under his mask grew wider as each of the men gulped loudly at the disappear lights. Their knees shook lightly, making their boss growl in displeasure. After pulling out five plugs, he purposely left one turned on and let his presence be felt.

Two men turned around in his way after he swung behind a stack of containers. Another one was in cold sweat as he moved one. Loud clangs of metal emanated from all around, echoing inside the warehouse. They grabbed their guns from the floor and looked around nervously. Spiderman was actually multitasking. He switched from container to container, opening them one-by-one trying to see if a girl might be trapped in one somewhere. It also scared the crap out of the people.

"Boss, I think someone's here…" one stated shyly.

"What?! I can't hear you!" the mastermind bellowed back, "There's still ringing in my ears!"

"BOSS! I THINK SOMEONE'S HE—

The masked hero quickly released a cob full of web towards the guy's mouth to shut him up. He shot two more to bind his feet and arms. A loud thud reverberated on the floor, attracting attention from his other teammates. Two of the other guys ran towards the fallen one with flashlights, finding him wringing like a worm stuck in a spider's web. They tried to tear the web away but failed only to find their hands sticking on the substance. Spiderman took the chance to shoot the two as well. _3 down, 3 to go._

The three captured men flailed helplessly on the floor, mumbling through the sticky web over their mouths. The rest of their comrades went to aid them but a long, slender hand stopped them. Their boss stood in front of them with a grim look in his face, more sinister with the ambient light highlighting the sharp contours of his aquiline countenance. He didn't say anything for her knew that talking would be futile. Whatever attack that has been done upon them, it has left their ears completely useless. So with a domineering gaze and sharp gestures, he waved the two to go stand guard in the center. He made his orders more specific by raising his hand and opening it, revealing a handful of brown hair. The two minions quickly realized it to be one of their victim's locks and nodded. Then their boss took out his other hand, and opened it while flashing a haughty smile. Upon his long slender fingers was the incarnadine color of dark crimson.

"One of them is here," he mouthed, "And she's injured."

The four returned a smirk as the lanky man gestured them to look behind him. Just on the center of their burned out spotlights were drops of blood. His smirk grew eviler as he led their eyes on blood smears leading to the far right of the warehouse.

"You two stay here, shoot at everything while I go fetch our victim." He uttered, grabbing a KA-BAR knife from his guys and walked away. The two held their rifles steadily and stood guard, watchful eyes for their intruder as their master stalked his prey.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Darcy instinctively pushed her back more on the corner she cowered in when she suddenly heard groans and shouts. The people outside have already gained their consciousness and judging the shouts echoing throughout the building, the Black Fox was angry. A small smirk crept her lips as she heard them yell at each other, all utterly deaf by her sonar attack. Releasing a high pressurized sound like that, it would be a miracle if they can still hear. She shivered silently in her corner, packing herself more into her thin coat to combat the cold. All she needed was to wait for them. She doubted that they'll argue all night, so waiting for them to leave was the best possible choice. She'll also need time to gather strength for all the pain that she was suffering in her head was draining her. It took her all her strength to not scream in pain.

Darcy rubbed her hands together to muster heat from her palm, huffing in and out. She was dreadfully stuck in this cold metal icebox, with a flimsy jacket as protection. She could no longer feel her ears, and she felt like her nose was about to fall off any moment like a fragile stalagmite quivering inside a dark cave. It was getting unusually cold, and as she heard the thunder crash wildly outside, she found that rain wouldn't help her predicament at all.

Not to mention, she was hopelessly, undeniably hungry.

She's only been abducted for at least six hours and she found herself nearing the peak of her misfortune. She pressed her legs more to her stomach to stifle the loud grumbling of her starving body and leaned in to continue on listening for the men outside her container.

Darcy found that the guy already stopped yelling at his henchmen, with only to hear loud banging of metal doors opening. She swallowed deeply as she just gulped a liter of liquid as nervousness slithered her system. Someone is checking the cargo crates. Someone is looking for her.

Someone knew she was still inside the warehouse.

Darcy gritted her teeth in aggravation. If someone opened the metal doors of her crate, she'll have to find a way to defend herself. Without her watch, she was pretty much unarmed. But the little girl had a resolve. She wouldn't go down without a fight.

She started patting her clothes for potential weapons. She ignored the loud shouts outside, and focused on finding some kind of defense. The thought of using her heels as a blunt weapon was taken into consideration but she found that the heels were too short and dull to hit someone on the face. Also, boots were meant for kicking. The gabardine cotton strap around her waist looked more promising. It was thin yet durable, which can be use as a device to induce asphyxia. Maybe all the spy movies she'd been watching would prove to be helpful this time.

She wound a few inches of the belt around her right hand and stretched her legs, ready to kick and suffocate. Darcy was not entirely confident of her makeshift weapons, but she'll only need enough things to throw a distraction. Whether it's kicking the guy in the groin or pulling him to the ground with her belt, anything will do just to get a few seconds. She'll only need a few seconds so she can run the hell out of there.

_I could use the gun._

Darcy eyed a small black gun three feet away from her with contempt and disgust. She saw it first when she woke up but completely ignored it. She didn't want to acknowledge its existence. She didn't want to consider using it. Even though she realized that Jeanne might have left it with her so she can protect herself, she will never even think about using it. It's a gun for God's sake. She doesn't even know how to use and she found no reason why she would use on someone else. Sure she was the daughter of the greatest and renowned weapons manufacturer in the world, but it didn't mean that she should go brandishing a gun everywhere. If she needed to protect herself, she'll find a way. She has to. A gun will only be her last resort.

At that moment, all the clanging of metal doors stopped only to be replaced with a series of gunshots. Darcy immediately lifted her hands to cover her ears, and ducked her head over her knees. She doesn't know if these containers are bulletproof or not but one cannot be too careful. It was her first time hearing real gunshots, and she shivered slightly. The sound of it was much scarier than what she hears in movies. It was continuous and loud in which Darcy recognized as an automatic rifle. She overheard shouts of men, yelling their own string of curses.

She didn't quite understand why the people outside starting shooting. Darcy could only hope that it could be help. Maybe Jeanne told the police that she was still inside the warehouse, and now they're coming to the rescue. Maybe Tony found her, launching a godly fury over her abductors. Maybe they were just shooting for fun. Darcy doesn't know, but one could only hope.

Her breathing quickened as the bullets outside fired faster and faster. She could recognize two voices shouting, wondering what happened to the rest of the men. She decided to leaned back more, and just waited again. All good things will come to people who wait. Maybe she can get out after they've shot each other to death. It's not like someone knows she was inside the metal crate, right?

_I might have spoken too soon…_

Gunshots still rang outside her metals when suddenly, the very door of her own container swung open. Darcy immediately tensed her muscles and released a piercing glare at her unwelcomed visitor. She felt her stomach drop as a mocking laugh began to reverberate inside the container, emanating from a tall slender silhouette by the entrance.

Her blue eyes electrified with cruel austerity, face hard and tense, as the man walked inside in a supercilious strut. "What do we have here?" he mocked, "Did your friend leave you all alone?" the sharp angles of his smug grin illuminated as the light effused from outside. Darcy wiggled her fingers around her cotton belt in annoyance. She didn't really want to see that face again. "How heartbreaking, little girl. After all you've done for her, and she escapes by herself. Cruel, cruel world."

"Don't you dare come close to me," Darcy hissed, propping her feet ready. Under the layer of her bitter acerbity, outmoded confusion entangled the depths of her mind. There were at least a hundred of cargo containers inside this warehouse and yet he still managed to find her.

"I can't hear you, pet," he shrilly laughed, he stepped closer, "You have left me deaf and paralyzed after that little attack of yours.

"Go fall in a ditch," Darcy scowled.

"Oh well," he laughed, "God has given me his graces and has blessed me with opportunity. You're here, and you're hurt." Darcy pushed herself back to the corner. She could feel the cold metal in the back of her neck, stinging the burn that gathered in her head. The man stopped in front of her and squatted down to her level. "You wanna know how I found you?" he smirked. Darcy watched his fist float in front of her. Her eyes came ajar as he opened it and revealed a lock of her curly hair. Her heart thudded faster when she saw red tainting his hands. "This beautiful brunette hair… you're like my Gretel, leaving all these crumbs for me."

Darcy swiftly let her hand touch the back of head. Dull, numbing pain shot through her skull as her fingers touched the injured spot. She felt the air thin out as she felt a wet sensation. She didn't need to look at it to know what it was.

"With you here, all helpless and hurt, it will be only a matter of time until I get the Gem," he leered. Darcy's face contorted into a surprised grimace. She couldn't believe that this guy was still going on about some stupid gem. "I'll see your little friend's escape as an opportune moment. It's hard to clean up a dead body."

Darcy growled, inciting an amused chuckle from the man. "You're a psychopath!"

"Nope, still can't hear you." He grinned shifting his body closer to Darcy.

Darcy tried to swallow but her throat was already dry. Aggravation, and pain coursed through her veins. She has used far too much willpower to contain the pain she was suffering, she didn't know if she can hold up her irritation anymore. She was hungry. She was thirsty. She was freezing. She was hurt. The energy to contain everything she was feeling was draining fast and she wasn't sure if she can hold it any longer. And now, this guy comes into the scene, with that smug grin on his face, Darcy finally snapped.

"You got the wrong person." Darcy exclaimed. The way the guy twitched his head indicated that he heard her. "You hear me? You got the wrong person. I'm not the Ambassador's daughter."

"_What?_" the man hissed, pushing his sharp face closer to hers. His dark eyes narrowed as Darcy glowered at him.

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she dug her right hand inside her coat's inner pockets. The man confusingly watched her take out a white rectangular card and thin piece of paper. It was her plane ticket and ID. Darcy nonchalantly put the ticket back into her pocket and zipped it in for safety.

Without any warning, she pushed the card in front of his face just so he can clearly read it. "Read carefully," she ordered, showing the details of the card. A picture of her clad in a red uniform was placed on the left side of the card. His eyes widened as he read the name, with complete, utter incredulity. He suddenly had the urge to smack himself in the head for not thinking of searching the girls when they were unconscious.

"What… what is this?" he stuttered. Darcy could smell the failure off of him.

"I. Am. Not. Jeanne. Delattre." She enunciated, laced with grim severity, "My name is Darcy Lewis."

As she held the card in front of him, Darcy thought. The man was right there in front of her, defenseless. He was distracted, flabbergasted. She could just push her foot up against his groin and maybe kick him in the head or punch him in the throat or something. Throat-punching seemed like a pretty good idea. Yeah, she can just punch him, and run away. But the plan became just a fantasy when she realized that her hand was shivering.

Darcy was irritated again. Of all times, now she gets scared?

She quickly pulled her hand and dug it in her pocket. Chills ran through her spine when the man's face began to contort into different expressions. She saw confusion, and shock. Then anger.

She didn't have time to react when his cold, hard hand curled around her neck. Darcy winced has he squeeze her throat harder, pulling her up to his level. She can hear growl angrily as he swung her to the right, and banged her back against the wall. Darcy feebly dropped the belt she hoped to use as a weapon, and used her hands to free herself instead. Her mouth slacked open, releasing a strangled whimper, gasping desperately for a breath.

"You. You dare to trick me, you wench," he growled venomously, tightening his grasp. A stifled agonized cry escaped her quivering lips, her hand feebly trying to pry the cold vice around her throat. "It's a shame. I was going to let you live. It's a shame that I can't hear you cry and beg."

Darcy tried to process options quickly. She had no time to hope for help. Hoping for a miracle was futile. She needed to fix the situation by herself. There was no time to cry and wince in pain.

"I can't die now!" Darcy gasped, "It's my birthday!" Then with all her strength, she used both of her elbows to hit his choking arms.

Death wasn't the option. From the start of this whole fiasco, she never planned to die. She may have let Jeanne escape first, but she never planned to give up. She wasn't raised that way. She wasn't raised to be selfish. Dying is selfish.

If she died now, she will only do nothing but cause more pain. Not to herself, but to other people. Pepper and Tony appeared in her mind. She has been told of the stories of how Tony used to act when his parents died. He would lock himself inside his mansion, shunning people away, with nothing but a bottle of scotch to relieve of his misery. Pepper also experienced grief with her first boss, Meredith's mother, who later died of cancer. Later on, Meredith followed, and Tony and Pepper broke down. Happy used to tell her that they wouldn't talk to anyone about anything but just stare and take of care of her. They didn't leave the mansion, and avoided everyone. They did nothing but lock themselves in Darcy's new room and look after her. Happy called Darcy their sun, never ending light that will perpetually shine over them, casting all of the dark shadows of life away. She can't imagine the pain she would cause if she was gone. There has been too much people buried, and Darcy doesn't want to be another one. At least, not yet.

His arms bended down as she slammed her elbows on to and within that moment of distraction, Darcy retracted her fingers like claws and poked him in the eyes. He yelled loudly in pain and quickly released her. "You stupid bitch!"

She readied herself to run as she coughed and coughed to get oxygen back into her lungs. The man stumbled backwards, both palms over his eyes, cursing at her. Darcy was still dazed by his sudden attack. She focused her gaze towards the opening of the container, but fumbled feebly against the walls. But she swiftly chased her dizziness away and went to dash away from the guy.

"Not so fast," the man hissed, reflexively twisting his body around to catch Darcy. The little girl skillfully ducked her head but she loudly yelled agonizingly when she felt something grab the ends of her hair. She screamed louder as the man clutched a handful of her hair and pulled back, making her fall backwards. He began circling her hair around his hand like a piece of rope tied to a horse and reeled her in like a fish. Darcy released a shrilling shriek just as she felt his cold hands touch the back of her head, the epicenter of her injury. Vertigo spiraled in again inside her skull. She could her feel brain being shaken into slosh. All the energy that was left inside drained away exponentially as the pain continued to shoot from her brain to her spine, contamination every nerve of her fragile body. The beat of her heart throbbed faster and faster, her lungs taking every bit of air in the atmosphere to contain the pain.

Her body was awkwardly and unnaturally angled from the floor, the weight abnormally suspending the air as he only clutched her hair. She dragged her feet up but her knees felt weak that it refused to find balance. Then his large hand moved from her hair to over her face, covering and muffling her screams of undeniable pain. Her blue eyes dulled in extreme shock as she met his now-red orbs glaring at her with full animosity. Also, the threatening glint of the ragged knife he slowly raised towards her the nap of her throat. She shivered ferociously; feeling the cold, sharp point of the knife poked her skin.

"You will suffer," he whispered with stinging venom, "You will suffer slowly, excruciatingly, child. You will regret tricking me." Darcy shut her eyes, expecting the blade to lunge into her throat. But she suffered something she thought was more torturous.

The man growled when he pushed her head with force, slipping his hand to grab the ends of hair. Then with a victorious laugh, he swung his knife in between her head and his hand. Darcy suddenly found no force to support herself, falling on her knees and forearms. She ignored the scraped feelings that emerged in her limbs when she noticed the sudden change of sensation of her head. It felt unnecessarily lighter—and shorter.

Darcy let out a pained scream, as the man hysterically laughed, holding a long wad of curly hair. "No, no, no, no, no, no—"Darcy whimpered, staring widely at the thick locks slowly falling softly on the floor. Two shaking hands reached for the back of her head, feeling the unwanted emptiness. "My hair," she gasped, feeling that her hair only now reached down below her shoulders, "Not my hair…"

The lanky villain released another maniacal laugh, stumbling aside, clutching his stomach with the knife steady on his hand, as if he was experiencing genuine mirth.

"It's just your hair, sweetheart," he mocked, wiggling the blade playfully, "No need to be so heartbroken. Besides, we've only just begun."

Darcy kneeled down in front of him, frightened eyes over the limp tresses of her cut hair. Her sullied porcelain finger trembled weakly as she picked them up. A whimpering sob broke out of her, as she saw them slip through her fingers. She didn't want anything to happen like this. She'd rather be hurt anywhere than cut her hair. She'd rather die than have her hair cut.

"You are a cruel man," Darcy mumbled weakly, bowing her head down close to his feet. She could see her now short hair fall stiffly in front of her, some long pieces curling out; resulted by the crude haircut she just received. Darcy was no longer angry. She no longer felt irritated.

_Anguish. _

She felt sad.

She felt defeated.

"Was your hair that important?" he chuckled again. He twisted his body around to laugh some more, continually mocking her grim reaction. "Oh, honey," he started, running his blade against the rusting walls of the metal container. The place groaned, and cracked as his vicious, psychotic remarks reverberated, "You will experience more pain than that. To think you can stop me from strangling, I thought you'd be stronger than that. But no! You're crying over your stupid hair?"

"It's not stupid," Darcy suddenly bellowed. The man, surprised that the girl still had energy to yell, quickly turned around to face. His smug grin completely disappeared as he witness an unexpected sight.

Darcy sat upright, resting her weight upon her calves and feet. Her head cocked to the side, mouth flat and eyebrows knitted. The man froze as she pointed something to his face. The light was dimmed out inside the container, but he knew what she was holding. It was no mistake that she was pointing a gun to his face.

While the man was laughing at her, Darcy made the decision to kneel down in front of him. Unbeknownst to him, she only did it to reach for the weapon behind him. She placed a quivering finger inside the trigger as she crawled back away from him, yearning for the exit.

After a momentary pause of shock, he began to cackle. Darcy grimaced at his mocking sneer.

"Don't make me do this!" Darcy warned. Her voice trembled along with her quaking hands. She pointed the weapon at him, desperate. She doesn't want to use the gun. She didn't even want to look at it, or even touch it. It was such a filthy little thing, what she was holding. It was a total exemplification of unnecessary violence in this world. She can never understand the point of weapons. She understood everything else possible in the universe but she just couldn't fathom why people would use violence to undermine lesser people. People might find this quite unbelievable, since Darcy _is_ the only daughter of the great Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist of weapons manufacturing. She is the heir of Stark Industries. All her life, everything she used came from Tony's powerful hands and his weapons. He would always tell her that it was for peace. If it was for peace, why is the nation still at war?

The cold metal feeling of the gun stung every cell of her hands as she pointed it at the villain before her. Her hands feebly trembled, terribly hesitant to pull the trigger. She didn't want to use it. She didn't want to use the gun.

"Come on, shoot me!" the man barked amusingly, placing his hands over his stomach to stop his laughter, "As if you can shoot me! Ha!"

Darcy grimaced. Her body rejects the feeling of a weapon in her hands. But if the guy kept on laughing, she'll be forced to pull the trigger, just to stop the imprudence exuded by the man.

"This is so entertaining!" he continued, "A small, breakable girl like you… holding that thing."

Her glare quivered in irritation.

"Those bright blue eyes, burning with anger. I love it!" he cackled, "It's just too funny!"

_What's so funny?_ Darcy shouted in her head, _I'm holding a gun and you're laughing like a psycho!_

"And to think you can hurt me!" he breathed out, chuckling loudly again.

_Yes, I think I can._

"With a freaking TASER! HAHA!" he arched his back as if he was genuinely laughing in mirth, "I can't. This is too funny!"

_Wait… What? _

Darcy put the weapon in her, closer to her face, where more light shone. Dim ambient light glowed up gold letter on the side of the barrel. She couldn't believe it. It wasn't a gun. It was just a TASER. A stun gun.

She can use it.

The laughter stopped abruptly, as he straightened his over brooding countenance and began to creep towards her. His darks eyes were no longer filled with undeserved mirth he wore earlier but a pair of soulless black orbs, waiting to hurt. A malicious grin was plastered on his pallid face as he remarked, "You can't hurt me. Look at you. You're shaking like a wet puppy."

Darcy realized that. She was shaking uncontrollably. She hated how she was stuck in a situation like this. She hated how today just decided to become a vast cellarage of entropy and chaos, already brimming over the lid. She hated how she was being undermined like this. She hated how horribly, irrevocably angry she was.

Darcy waited for the right moment, until he was close enough to her. He stepped slowly, like a taunting predator, entertained by his helpless prey. But what he doesn't know is that his cornered prey has claws of her own.

Smirking menacingly, "You can't run away from me now," holding the KA-BAR knife on his right hand. "You'll regret messing wi—

_Zzzzzzzzzzt. Zzzzzt. zzzzt. _

Darcy pulled the trigger at that instant, releasing two long probes that reached for this chest that let out a high voltage shock. She watched with exasperated eyes as the man in front of her began trembling and shaking. The sight was thoroughly terrifying to the little girl, making her whimper as the electricity continued to jolt inside his body, forcing him to fall down on the floor. Darcy inched back a few meters more as the man laid in front of her, completely incapacitated, and drooling. His body jerked a few times, and then went limp; releasing his grasp on the knife that threatened to hurt her. Darcy couldn't believe it.

"I tasered him…" she spoke after finding air drifting back to her lungs, "I tasered him…" Darcy was utterly relieved and surprised. Shock filled her body like the electricity that came from the taser. She didn't have to shoot him. She didn't have to kill.

At that moment, a big long sigh escaped her throat. The man that hurt her is rendered unconscious. She can finally escape. She can finally run. She can finally go home.

"I guess I wasn't needed," a voice spoke behind her, "I guess I wasn't need at all."

…and that marked the first time Spider-man had a taser pointed at him.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, little girl. Hold up there!" he exclaimed, putting his hands in front of him, "Watch where you're pointing that thing. That's not safe." He took a cautious step back after seeing two bright blue eyes glowing amongst the darkness and a yellow-tipped weapon pointed to him. The girl had turned around to look at him with the gun. He noticed her quiver while holding the weapon, but it still steadily headed at him. He wondered if his mutation was immune to electric shocks.

"I think you should put that thing down… before you hurt anyone else," he warned, worming closer to her. But the girl only fell back again, raising the taser up more.

"You mean, before I hurt _you_," she said, trembling.

"Yes, before you hurt me," he sighed, coming closer, "You have to trust me. I'm not a bad person,"

"Says the masked man coming closer to me," she hissed, hoisting her gun up more. Spider-man had to concur. His spidey outfit wasn't necessarily the trust-me-I'm-safe type.

"Really, you haven't heard of me? I just saved Midtown a month ago!" he commented. He waved his arms around, and rotated to show her his outfit, "You haven't seen this? The red and blue suit? Spider emblem… dashing good looks ring any bells?"

"I don't watch TV," Darcy replied, narrowing her eyes, earning a sigh from the man.

"Look, Darcy. It's Darcy, right?" he squatted down to her level.

"How did you know that?" she glowered. No one was supposed to know who she is.

Spider-man sighed again. Why was saving one girl taking too long? "Okay, Darcy. See you friend, little blond kid, snotty and dirty, told me to find you after I saved her. I'm the good guy here."

His eyes under his mask winced as the little girl cocked her head in confusion. The move gave him a full view of hair badly-cut hair, and her porcelain neck—with a large bruise around it. He noticed her blue eyes soften at the mention of Jeanne, assuming she was relieved at hearing about her friend's status, but still continued to point the taser at him. The hero could not help but feel sympathy and pity for her. Such a little girl undergoing a traumatic event, it's completely reasonable to act like that. He felt the muscles around his heart squeezed hard as he continued to stare at the girl's strangled marks around her frail neck, her quivering cerulean eyes, her frightened hands.

"S-she's safe?" she croaked out, eyebrows knitting up, a frown creeping in her mouth, "Jeanne's safe?"

"Yes, she's perfectly safe. She's with her parents by the dock, getting treated for her cuts and bruises. And look, she gave me this to find you," Spider-man held out his wrist to reveal her watch. Darcy's eyes widened like saucers as she watched him unclasp the thing around d his wrists and dangled it in front of her. And at the moment, she finally put down the taser.

"My w-watch…" she stammered, dropping the taser in front of him to get the watch from him. He watched her grip the thing tightly inside her shaking hands, head down in defeat. She didn't look up to him when she spoke, her eyes only boring into the watch's screen. "You're here to save me?"

"Yes, I'm here to save you," he lulled, "You're safe now."

"I-I'm going home?" she stuttered, stroking the glass with her thumb, still not looking up, "All the bad guys are gone?"

"Yes, they're all trapped in my web, unconscious." Spider-man explained. Then slowly, he reached under her shoulders to carry her up. He felt her shiver in his hands. Poor girl, she must be so cold. "Police are coming here any minute to bring these guys to jail, Darcy."

"It's all over…?" she whispered, finally looking up to face him. At that moment, he lost it all. Under his mask, a deep, somber frowned appeared. He felt his heart clench as if a thick chains wounded around it in a tight vice. His stomach churned acid, and his lungs no longer breathed. The deep blue eyes that burned with fury, the cold stare that gaze upon him before, the hard stone expression he laid his eyes upon on… he didn't find any trace of it. It was all gone.

He swallowed nervously as the cold blue orbs in her eyes began to fade into a soft, twinkling aquamarine. Tears began to slither down her sullied face like waterfalls. Her lips stained with red with the paralyzing temperature, distorted to a heartbreaking frown. Incarnadine colors flushed through cheeks and the tip of her nose twitched. Painful sobs echoed throughout the metal walls, even louder with his enhanced hearing. She wiped her tear-stained face pathetically, still clutching on her dear watch. The girl before, Jeanne, she had cried a lot, and sobbed more. But somehow, Darcy's incredibly forlorn cries were utterly, indescribably agonizing. As if years of pent up fear, horror and anguish finally erupted out of her system. A tragic sight, it was.

"Darcy, you've been so brave," he intoned softly, holding her weak arms gently. "The bravest of them all…" He took the liberty to wrap his arms around the sobbing girl. He didn't know why he did so. It felt natural—instinctive. Darcy wallowed louder in his shoulder, embracing him back.

"I… was… so scared," she sobbed, "I was horribly, miserably scared."

"Everything is okay now," he whispered.

"I was afraid that I was going to die—that Jeanne was going to die. I was afraid when they put the chloroform on me. I was scared when I woke up inside that crate. Everything hurts. My head hurts. My neck hurts. I didn't know what to do. This never happened to me before. They were so scary. Everything is so scary. I miss my mom. I miss my dad. I miss my uncles. I miss everything. I want to go back home."

"Don't worry, I'll bring you somewhere safe," he continued.

"I didn't know what to do! So I pretended that I was strong. I pretended that everything will be fine. I pretended that my dad would come and save me. I pretended to be brave. But no… I was so scared. I was so, so scared."

This girl was so weak, he couldn't help but feel the sorrow. To be put into such a terrible situation, it was miracle to survive it without any tragic consequences. He gripped her tighter to bring comfort but he only induced more cries from her.

"I was so scared. I was so scared. I was so, so, so scared!"

"Its normal to be afraid, Darcy. It's the most human thing to be. these kinds of feelings are what differentiates us from being total robots. and you know, seeing you sacrifice everything for the welfare of others is completely admirable. it is something that I myself have yet to learn. Sure, you were scare but did that stop you from saving your friend? No. You just saved Jeanne's life, Darcy. Don't forget that. You are one of the selfless, bravest people I know. It's amazing to see you burden such a responsibility."

Deep inside, he felt a tinge of jealousy. A part of him was envious of the admirable altruism that such a little girl like her displayed at the face of adversity. If he was placed in the same situation, without the help of his powers, he wouldn't know of what to do. Saving himself would be his first priority not someone's life. He would just stay and hide until help comes. He would never have the courage to take the initiative to start action. If only, he was brave and stalwart as Darcy, maybe things wouldn't been different. Maybe he'd become a better hero to everyone. Maybe he'd become a better nephew to his Aunt and maybe, just maybe, Uncle Ben would still be alive.

"This day shouldn't have happened!" Darcy bellowed in his shoulder. He could feel more tears soaking through his suit, and her arms growing weaker against his grasp.

"I know. Things like this never happen," he consoled. He loosened his hold instinctively, feeling her strength departing from her, and heard of what he described as true agony in her quivering voice. The ends of her frazzled shortened mane grew wild and rampant against his skin as she shook her head voraciously, her tears burning like droplets of embers upon his shoulder.

"No. Today was my birthday. But it shouldn't be. I shouldn't be here." she bawled, her breath heaved slowly and weakly, "If I wasn't here, none of these would have happened. No one would get hurt because of me. no one will have to cry. Everybody always cry for me. my Ma- she always cries about everything I do. Every time something happens she always cries and its all my fault. If I wasn't here, my dad won't to hide this big secret. He would have lived a normal life—a better one without a hindrance like me. If I wasn't here, my real mom wouldn't have died. She could be living her life here, smiling and laughing with my Dad. All I bring is pain and sorrow. My whole existence is a burden to everyone. I shouldn't have been alive. I should've died in that car crash."

She took her hands suddenly from his shoulders and dropped along with the gravity of the atmosphere. He felt her chest heaved slower and slower, sinking as she sobbed and her figure, drawn up, determined to finish by a last effort and strength from her bones what she had to say—the feelings that were long suppressed broke loose. "I shouldn't have been born!" His muscles tensed immediately, laying his arms out wide in time to prevent her from descending on the floor, and hearing her one last excruciated cry of this cold November night, "Just leave me. L-leave me here to the ground!"

And there, he laid her upon his webbed arms, her flaccid, motionless body, eyes shut close glued by all the tears she shed, skin fading into the brightest complexion of snow and broken pallid ashes, blood-stained quaking lips, and saw the enigma of his mind and the puzzle of his heart, lying, a breathless heap, in his arms.

* * *

_I will try as hard as I can to write the next chapter as fast as possible. This chapter was a great practice for me for writing about emotional stuff and I think I'm getting better with my English, right? [lol no]_

_Also, the part where she couldn't remember anything right away- signs of concussion and no, Peter was not standing around the whole time the man was tormenting Darcy. He was fighting the other two henchmen. I apologize again for the long chapter and the cliff hanger. I have to work on that. _

_And and and before i forget, I need to ask... y'all need to make up yo minds._

_Darcy/Steve or Darcy/Peter Parker? Why?_

_Thank you also for all the reviews for the last chapter. All your insights and reviews are my motivation to continue on writing and please, don't stop. I want to see all of your feelings, comments, and complaints. The more I see, the more it shapes the story. _


	16. The Father and the Daughter

** The Father and the Daughter**

* * *

_I'll find you, Darcy... I'll find you._

* * *

"Really, Tony? You couldn't wait inside the car?" Rhodes sighed as he slid inside the passenger's seat. He wiped the rain off his uniform in vexation, knowing it was not needed to look at the man he was reprimanding to voice his admonition, "I told you I've got it under control."

"I heard you," Tony merely answered, leaning himself back comfortably beside Pepper. His friend continued to utter a few more curses in addition to his lecture, while he indifferently takes out his phone.

"Happy, go to Mount Sinai," he demanded. Happy needed not to ask any further and found it more helpful to just follow the man.

"Mount Sinai? Tony, what are you talkin—you know what? I'm done." Rhodes huffed, "You do what you want." Happy nodded at the command and started to accelerate the vehicle. The four didn't mind the speed the chauffeur was going into. They coolly ignored the haphazard turns and swerves Happy made, and the revving the car roared. They needed to get to the hospital fast.

Still overwhelmed with worry, Pepper nervously fiddled her thumbs together while sitting next to Tony. She has witnessed the whole fiasco of Tony stealing the phone from Rhodey to ask where Darcy is. She was there when she heard that a girl made it safely back to the marina. She was there when she also heard that it wasn't her daughter who was saved. It was a complete mystery to her. An absolute enigma of her mind seeing that Darcy never showed a hint that she was not the only kidnapped. Darcy never told them that she wasn't alone. Darcy only told them she had an escape plan. She trusted that. Not completely, but she trusted that. So when she heard a completely different unfamiliar voice in the other side of the phone, a sense of betrayal seeped through her skin. She felt played, tricked. She realized that Darcy never meant that she was going to escape. She was letting her friend escape not her. Pepper wanted to shout out curses like Tony when they found that fact. They both felt disappointed that Darcy was not the one who answered, the one who was saved. They felt disappointed that their daughter never cared to tell them her real intentions. Sure, she displayed such a noble act, but they just wished it wasn't just like this. Now, Darcy, who was supposed to escape, was still inside that warehouse, alone with her captors.

"The French Ambassador's daughter was kidnapped, and Darcy was with her." Tony informed her.

"For what?" Pepper intoned.

"I don't care about what. I care more about _who_." He hissed, tapping angrily on his phone. Pepper could feel the anger and fury he was exuded, just sitting behind him. She has to remind herself to tell Rhodey to keep the suspects away from him. This kidnapping can't turn into murder. "Stupid Delattre. Can't take care of his own enemies."

She has to take the French Ambassador away from him too. He might tear the man apart. Desperate to direct his angst and worry, Pepper took out her own phone to begin researching. "Um. The guy who has the watch… Who is he again…?"

"Some shit called Spider-man," he grumbled, "I guess some losers think that calling themselves after an arachnid can make their low life less humiliating than it actually is…"

Nope. He's still angry.

"Tony, stop. He's the one who went back for Darcy—"

"I don't care. He should be smart enough to save her too."

"Look, he's not a bad person," she countered, showing him an article on her phone, "Apparently, he saved Midtown a month ago from a biochemical outbreak from Oscorp Industries. He has been seen to crawl on walls, and shoot webs—like a spider."

"I never trusted Oscorp. Shady things come from people who want to cure the world. Where were we and Darcy?"

"You want to save the world too, so stop judging. We were in Dubai working on your new headquarters there. Darcy was safe inside the school. I'm surprised she didn't tell us about this."

"She never tells us anything anymore," Tony whispered, exasperated. Pepper turned to him with forlorn eyes. She watched his steady eyelashes bat daintily at his device. The screen's blue hue reflected on his dark, blank orbs, staring back with a solemn expression that broke her heart. An exasperated sigh breathed out of his tired lungs. This day has been too long.

"JARVIS, you there?" he uttered placidly. The screen flickered with aquamarine arcs circling in each other. Straight, unwavering lines and shapes faded in the device in a geometric pattern. The two stared blankly at the map, all attention upon the blinking red dot on the screen. The dot was moving quite rapidly, seemingly passing over through all the buildings in the map. A tiny spark of interest came over Tony as he watched the dot go. Moments later, Pepper stopped breathing as the dot stopped over a building.

The warehouse.

The dot that indicated Spider-man moved slowly upon the markings of the roof. The two carefully set their gazes upon him, as he stopped onto the demarcations of rooftop windows. Curiosity was felt on the tips of their fingers as they became spectators of the scene. That kind of power was beneficial yet deleterious at the same time—being able to have seeing eyes on the situation. Tony and Pepper were able to see what was happening but it's disheartening to know that they can't do anything about it.

_Sir, I think he is trying to gain access of the device._

Jarvis' disembodied voice rang out, surprising the two of them.

"Link the microphone, JARVIS. I want a live feed." Tony ordered, bringing the screen closer to his face. Pepper inched closer to his side, also skeptical. Two beeps resonated from the phone indicating that the microphone has been activated. Pepper flinched as she heard an unfamiliar voice. It was surprisingly child-sounding… adolescent.

"_What kind of name is J.A.R.V.I.S.?_" the voice squeaked out. They heard the AI reply with a snarky answer, and Pepper shook her head. Of all the things Tony could input into a computer, he chose a sassy personality.

Tony didn't mind it, of course. "JARVIS, extract information."

She listened again as JARVIS asked the voice for Darcy's whereabouts and the situation. Her heart beat faster when she found out that six big guys kidnapped Darcy. Then her lungs refused to breathe when she heard that they carried guns. Then her system ceased to function when she heard that Darcy was nowhere to be found.

Tony, on the other hand, was angry… and worried. He gripped the phone tighter in his hand, and his face contorted severely into a grim expression. It was hard. It was hard for him to not have any control in the situation. He was just there in the back of a car with no power whatsoever but watch in hopelessness. It was also hard for him to muster trust for this Spider-man guy. To trust someone who he hasn't met was given the power to rescue his own daughter. Someone like him was sent to handle guys with rifles and weapons. Someone like him was to save Darcy.

Happy's voice piped in distracting him from his thoughts. "Tony, we're here," he said joined with the loud skidded stop of the vehicle.

Everyone in the car looked to their right to see bright lights shine against the dark, raining environment. Egregious red letters lay atop the doors that said, "Emergency Room" and the interior can be perfectly seen from the outside. Before opening the door, Tony muttered to the phone. "Tell him to bring her here. As soon as possible."

He then inserted his device back into his pockets, and nonchalantly pushed the car door open. Pepper frantically scrambled for an umbrella but the man just walked through the rain. He didn't care about the weather; he had more important things to care about. He walked towards a dark countenance in front of the emergency room doors. The silhouette was tall and dark, holding a black umbrella to shield itself from the rain. His features gradually appeared into his view as he walked closer to him. The man smiled weakly at Tony, raising his free hand to shake Tony's hand. The genius shook it indifferently, eyes intently on the man before him.

"Mr. Stark, it's nice to see you again," a deep voice trembled against the man's throat, "A private room has been prepared as soon as I got your message. All staff is in high alert for your daughter."

Tony nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Conrad."

He had saved a lot of people before. Most of them involved him carrying them into safe places. But this time, however, is totally different thing. Usually he would carry someone by their stomach and let them dangle in terror as he swung from building to building. But now, he tried his hardest to keep both of his hands on the lifeless little girl. Now that was hard.

When Darcy collapsed on him, his mind decided to stop functioning. A little girl who looked three years younger than him blasted him with such a powerful speech, he didn't know what to think or say. As if years of bottled –up emotions unfurled with relentless force. He didn't expect a little girl like her kept such thoughts inside her mind for so long. He grew even more frantic when he touched her head and found a warm liquid staining his hand. He didn't need to think twice to scoop her up and run towards the hospital.

He ignored the officers and SWAT teams barging inside the warehouse to collect the kidnappers. He ignored the continuous shouts of men, telling him to go down and give them Darcy. He ignored the pouring rain. He ignored the cold. He ignored everything. He just wanted to bring Darcy to safety.

The reasons for all of this were still unknown to him. He held no deep connections with her and yet his heart beat fast in anxiety. Worry.

He quickly encased her with a layer of his webbing to protect her from falling and bounced towards the Brooklyn Bridge. Getting to the hospital will take only a few minutes with his method of transportation. But that fact did not ameliorate his strangling heart when he looks down upon the motionless body in his arm. She was frighteningly frail and cold. Her lips shook and quivered with a myriad of colors of blue, purple and red. Her complexion became more ashen and pale, as if life was escaping through her lungs by the second. He wondered how she felt, how she suffered the pain. Was the pain that unbearable that the mind's only recourse was to shut off? Was it numbing? Traumatizing?

It may look like she was in a deep peaceful slumber, but he knew that nothing can ever make forget her this day.

The rain decided to stop just as when he arrived at the emergency room doors of Mount Sinai Hospital. He wanted to curse out loud for the weather's bad timing but he found no time for that. Darcy needed help and she needed help right away.

At that instant, he could feel all the stares being diverted towards him as he walked slowly inside. His grip grew tighter around Darcy's frail body. Her hair flailed lightly as gravity pulled it down, gathering more attention towards how it was brutally cut. The stinging smell of the hospital wafted through his suit, making him flinch at the clean, sterile disinfectant smell. Blinding fluorescent lights overwhelmed his eyes as it glared down at the stark white tile floor. EMTS maneuvered gurneys around him, encumbered with their own kind of emergency. They zoomed past behind him with their bright blue polyester jumpsuits and off-white masks. Shouts of medical jargon filled his ears as nurses and doctors tended their own patients. It was a maze, the room. It was an apparent labyrinth designed like a large round tire with hospital beds acting like bicycle spokes. His wide periphery got a glanced of light blue curtains and rooms, all occupied with patients. Surely he stood out in that room. With his outrageous red and blue outfit, only a blind man would be able to ignore him. However, the attention should not be directed to him.

"Uh—people? Little help?" he sighed, raising Darcy's lifeless body up. At that moment, three nurses pushed a gurney towards him and gently carried Darcy away from him. They laid her body softly on the bed, and freed her of his webbing and straightened her body to check her vitals. A stray doctor in the room went in with a small flashlight and a pair of gloves. Spider-man watched quietly as the guy used his two fingers to pry Darcy's eye open and wiggled the light over her pupils.

"Dilated pupils…" the man stoically muttered. A nurse behind him took out a pen to jot notes. He continued to shout above the urgent yells of EMTs and nurses, the moans of patients, a crying baby, beeping monitors. But Darcy was just lying there—making no sound.

"Do you care to tell me what happened?" the doctor asked him while checking Darcy's body. Spider-man didn't know what to say, everything was just so overcoming.

"Darcy—I think she hit her head. She collapsed after—" he stammered.

"I got a possible concussion here!" he bellowed, "Unconscious. Unstable breathing. Photo sensitivity. Trauma on the crown. Blood loss," then he moved Darcy's hair to find, "—and strangulation marks."

He could feel chains winding around his chest as the Doctor continued to mutter more of Darcy's injuries. He should really leave now. His job was done.

"Doc. Is she—"

And yet he couldn't bring himself to leave.

"We have to test for internal hemorrhage, fracture of the larynx—"

"Fracture?" he said, astounded.

"I want her in Trauma Bay, stat. Somebody get started with the stitches." The doctor ignored him and began pushing the gurney away from him. He stared blankly at her lifeless body fade away into the distance. Then he remembered.

He was like that—still, stationary like a statue. It was the same position he was in when Uncle Ben died months ago. He stood there, frozen, vacantly staring at his comatose body on the pavement. He only gazed as the crimson liquid began to stain the gray concrete, expanding like a famished monster. He saw the blood touch the tips of shoes, and his uncle's dull eyes looking straight at him. He didn't do anything. He didn't say anything. He just… watched.

And now he's doing the same thing with Darcy. While she lay there, pale and cold, he did nothing but stare in a daze. How can he change that?

"Um, sir?" a voice broke his reverie, "I think you dropped this."

He looked down to see a petite nurse, timidly holding something in her hands. The black leather quickly caught his attention.

"The watch," he intoned, reaching for it, "This isn't mine. It's the little girl's…"

"Oh, okay. I guess you'd hold that for her for a little while" she replied sheepishly, "Also, I need to ask a couple of questions about her."

"Questions?" he asked nervously. He really should leave.

"Like her name? It's for the paperwork." The nurse replied, tapping the clipboard in her hands.

"I know her." a voice chimed in. His ears perked up at the sound of that voice. He didn't know what to feel when he heard it. Happiness? Anxiety?

The nurse turned around to face the source of the voice, revealing a short woman in her fifties. Clad in a simple cotton dress and a wool cardigan, she stepped closer to the nurse with a worried look. "Are you talking about the little girl? I know her," she softly spoke as she tucked a lock of her white hair behind her right ear. He frowned inside his mask. She was only in her fifties and silver tresses already covered her head. He knew too well that it wasn't because of aging. It was grief. It was grief that turned her into a sorrowful widow.

Blue, dull eyes looked up to the nurse and asked, "She helped me once."

"Let me get those books from you, Mrs. Parker," the nurse smiled weakly as she took the pile of books from her hands, "Did you finish reading to the patients?"

"Ah, yes. I'll come again tomorrow. This old lady doesn't have much to do anymore," she feebly grinned. Then her eyes switched to Spider-man, and frowned, "What happened to the girl?"

He looked down right away to avoid her stare. He didn't know why he did but he just had to. "He brought her here, and right now we're doing a couple of tests. I'm afraid that's all I can say."

"She helped me once. She helped me pick a cake for my nephew two years ago for his 15th birthday. Chocolate strawberry from a small bakery in Midtown…"

He immediately raised his head at the statement. He recalled the said cake perfectly. He remembered the texture of the chocolate strawberry cake she brought home one day, the taste.

_That cake was so good. Darcy picked that?_

"What happened to her?" she asked again, "Poor child,"

"Kidnapped." Someone answered. All three heads turned to see a tall man clad in a sea-green scrub suit. His small brown eyes looked back with solemn eyes as he drifted his gaze back and forth to them and Darcy. Spider-man cocked his head, confused. He was so sure he hasn't told anyone what happened to Darcy.

"Dr. Conrad," the nurse greeted. The man nodded at her, gesturing her to go back to work. With a weak goodbye to the old woman, she walked away to tend Darcy in Trauma Bay. Aunt May inched closer to him, now shocked by the revelation. "Kidnapped?!"

"I don't know the full details but it is what happened," he calmly explained, "Nonetheless, Darcy will receive treatment after we have fully examined her. I can assure you that she's in perfect hands. I'm Dr. David Conrad and I am Darcy's doctor."

Dr. Conrad has been named as Darcy's personal doctor ever since her birth. Tony felt that he can be the only one trusted since he was there when it all began. Bound by confidentiality agreements, Darcy's health is carefully put under his loop. He'd fly to Malibu every six months to check her health. Common cold or concussion, he's always there for the little girl.

"So this is why I was told to bring her here," the masked man responded, shaking hands with him, "So, Doc, is she going to be okay?"

"She suffered a minor concussion, a cut on the crown of her head- that one will need stitches- bruising around her neck and a couple of gashes and bruises on her arms and legs." he weakly informed them. Aunt May's loud pained gasp echoed above the shouts of the EMT in the room. The doctor could only nod in reply. "She is being treated for all her injuries at the moment, and tests will be administered to her tomorrow morning. I'm guessing you, and Mrs. Parker are acquainted with little Darcy?"

The masked hero could not reply right away. He, himself, was unsure why he was still there.

"Yes, I know the little girl, Doctor," the lady answered feebly, "Is it okay if I stay a little longer for her?"

"Certainly, Mrs. Parker. You have done this hospital do much good, who am I to say no?" the man grinned gently. Then he threw a questioning look towards the web-head, "How about you?"

"I—uh—" he stammered, scratching the back of his head then an idea sparked, "I-I have this." He held out Darcy's watch sheepishly, "It looks important."

Dr. Conrad smiled, and went to reach for it. "Oh then, I'd be happy to give that to her when—"

"Uh, I'll do it!" he instinctively pulled it back in defense. The action surprised everyone, even himself. "I mean, I'd like to hold on to it—like you know, it might get lost…or something…"

The doctor's grin grew wider at the remark, and simply tapped the clipboard in his hand three times. "All right then. You guys can wait in that room down there while we set her up in a room."

The three nodded at each simultaneously in agreement, cueing the doctor to leave for his duties. The two quietly sauntered their way towards a small, unoccupied waiting room. The frail woman took the seat nearest to the door while Spider-man leaned against the wall far away by the window. With an indignant sigh, he declared that this was to be the most awkward situation of all. He noticed the woman indifferently taking out a book to read, with her ashen eyebrows shot up haughtily. She leaned her back on the seat comfortably and began to read. The silence was vociferously vexing to him, as if his existence was not acknowledged at all. He cocked his head, puzzled. Hello, masked superhero here?

"You can leave, you know?" she finally said, breaking the silence. He looked up, flabbergasted, to meet her monotonous expression. Her dull eyes were aloof, sparked with hint of authority and contempt.

"You're not needed anymore." She pursued.

He knew that his jaw would fall right on the floor if he wasn't wearing his mask.

While he continued to stare in awe, the old woman scoffed and shook her head in disappointment. "I can't believe you let someone hurt such a little girl."

Well, he didn't need his spider-sense to sense that someone doesn't like him.

"Poor girl had to go through such heartbreaking situations… and you call yourself a superhero…"

His mind froze at her remark. He thought of reasons. Why would Aunt May hate on him? Sweat dripped inside his mask as an idea came into mind. Could've have she figured out who Spider-man really was? But then, if she did, why would she not like Peter Parker? What could've Peter have done to make—

Uncle Ben.

Darcy.

Maybe, just maybe, if Peter Parker was a little bit different, none of this would have happened. While the deafening silence seeped through the atmosphere of the somber room, he began to contemplate his past actions. He should have gotten to the warehouse in time. He should have focused on the task at hand, and not thought of messing with the guards a little, and maybe he would have seen the man lurking around for Darcy. If he hadn't wasted time, then the bad guys would have been caught, and Darcy would not have been hurt. And if she hadn't been hurt, she wouldn't be in this hospital—injured and unconscious.

He slowly sunk himself towards the floor as he flooded himself with the weight of self-deprecation.

Yes, Peter Parker should have been different. Peter Parker should have been a better person.

If Peter Parker decided to stop thinking about his own personal pleasure and selfish wiles, other people would not have been hurt. Maybe if he had stopped that robber from fleeing in the first place, the robber wound not have run into Uncle Ben—and Uncle Ben wouldn't have gotten shot. His uncle would still be alive. He would have a chance to be a better nephew to him. And his uncle would be there to support in this whole superhero masquerade. He'll make better decisions. Save more lives. Save Darcy.

"Hello?" a voice piped in, distracting him from his thoughts. The fluorescent lights suddenly turned dark, as he felt a shadow hovering over him. He looked up to see the small petite nurse from before. A small smile was plastered on her face as she looked down on him, her brunette hair falling slowly from her shoulders. He started silently as the woman shook a little box in her hand. "Doesn't it hurt?" she softly uttered.

His head tipped to the side, puzzled. Nothing hurts. "What are you talking about?"

"Your arm—its bleeding," she said while pointing at his left arm. He followed her gaze and found a huge gash on his arm. A piece of his suit was been teared off, replaced by his bleeding flesh. Yup, if he was not the stupid miscreant he was, he wouldn't have gotten hurt too.

"Oh, didn't notice it…" he muttered, touching the gash. A bullet must have grazed him. Touching it made him realize the pain. He began to feel the blood soaking his suit. He began feeling the stinging pain. Ain't that a bitch?

He looked up with a confident nod, "Just a scratch. It doesn't hurt one bit."

The nurse weakly smiles and took the liberty to kneel in front of him. Without asking for his permission, she quickly grabbed his forearm and pulled it to her direction. The sudden movement sent a shock through his arm but he didn't show it. She reached for her box and revealed a small first aid kit.

"This is going to sting a little bit," she warned him, while pouring saline solution on a cotton pad. Then she rubbed the pad over the wound to clean off the grime and blood.

He merely scoffed in return, "Oh its fine," looking away. _Ow. Ow. Ow. Owwwwwwwwwwwww._

Once the nurse had cleaned off all the impurities in his arm, she began to put iodine over the grazed skin. He clenched his fists together and held back a hiss. The woman was deceptively evil. She may look petite and cute, but that woman didn't hold back on the alcohol.

"Hey, Mrs. Parker?" she called out, while taking out a roll of bandages from the box, "Honey, don't clench your fists. Relax…"

If only she could see the piercing glare he was sending her…

"Yes?" Aunt May replied, looking up from her book.

"Say that cake you were talking about earlier…" she droned, winding the bandage over his arm, "It came from _Paris Baguette_, right?"

"Oh, yes, yes! I go to that bakery a lot now," Aunt May chuckled, her eyes twinkling with sentiment, "Thanks to that little girl."

The nurse stepped towards the old lady and sat next to her after she finished bandaging his arm. He listened quietly from the sidelines as the two ladies laughed together about the bakery. He saw the impact that Darcy has made to his weary aunt. The moment the nurse mentioned the bakery, warm memories flooded the woman's mind, making her forget all the bad things for awhile. He wondered silently to himself, if he was able to make the same impact. He has done nothing but become a nuisance to his aunt, to everyone. Ever since his uncle's death, and birth of his new web-headed persona, he would always come home late, with bruises and cuts—now he's coming home with a grazed arm. He would always get into fights in school. He became a magnet for trouble. Shaking his head, he declared that he'll change. He didn't want to make that kind of impact to her life. He wants to be strong not only physically but mentally. He wants to be noble in the mind and in the heart. He wants to become a better person. A better hero.

Like Darcy.

A muffled knock came through the door, breaking the two women's conversation. The door swung open slowly to reveal Dr. Conrad's slender countenance. A sigh escaped his mouth, mixed with exasperation and relief. The two women gawked at him, anticipating news.

"Good news," he started, "Nothing fatal happened. Darcy will be okay."

May Parker released a loud relieved sigh, joined by the nurse's cheerful grin. The doctor smiled in return, "She is inside a private room with her parents. How about we give them time to rest? It's been a long day."

"Oh, of course," the old lady stood up with a reassuring nod, "I can finally go home in peace, knowing the little girl is safe. Can I visit tomorrow, Doctor?"

"Oh, yes, sure," he smiled back, "And you can also visit, Spider-man— where'd he go?"

He looked behind Aunt May, expecting to see the red, blue and black masked hero to reside. Everyone turned around, only to see the window opened out wide. The vast darkness of the night was all they saw, and the quiet howl of November frost was all they heard. Spider-man was gone.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"She has received stitches on the crown of her head, and all her cuts and bruises have been treated," she listened intently to the doctor. Her grey-bluish orbs quivered lightly as she stared at the man in front of her. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously as he listed all her treated and untreated injuries. It hurt. The pangs of the pain that her daughter has suffered… they were excruciating. "We did a CT scan on her concussion and no fatal fractures have been inflicted. She will be a little sensitive to light, occasional headaches and lightheadedness. As for the trauma…"

"Trauma?!" Pepper gasped, throwing her pale hand over her mouth. She didn't want this kind of tragedy to scar her mind forever. No child should ever be traumatized like that.

"Quick and sudden events can cause psychological traumas—in this case, a kidnapping. Darcy might have trouble coping with this, and stress will soon overcome her psyche and cause a disorder. She may develop PTSD, and suffer anxiety attacks once in a while," the doctor explained grimly. Pepper swallowed back a sob. Young girls can't have post-traumatic disorders… they just can't.

"W-wait, are you saying she'll continue to relive this day over and over again?" she stammered, feeling the tears welling up her eyes.

The doctor sighed, "Well, there is a chance she'll have PTA—post-traumatic amnesia. Especially with little children like her, their brain can create a mechanism that cloud these kinds of tragic memories and forget about them. It depends how strong the brain injury is to determine the duration of the amnesia. State of confusions like this can stay ranging from a short 30 minutes to months, maybe years. We also have to keep in mind how strong Darcy's mind is."

The two twisted their gazes behind them where Darcy lays asleep on a wide hospital bed. The golden ambient light from the walls gave her pale, cold skin a light peach glow—as if she filled with life again. Her frail body was enveloped with warm blankets that Pepper had provided. Her eyes, closed and peaceful. Tony sat frigidly on her bedside, with a piercing stare upon his daughter. The moment Darcy was brought inside the room, he never left her side. He held her hand endearingly, tightening it as she shivered as if she was still outside in the cold. Just how strong was Tony Stark's daughter?

"Darcy can succumb to the painful memories and relive them every day or fight it—fight so that it may never happen again," Dr. Conrad stated, maintaining his attention to the father and daughter, "And she won't have to go through it alone. She'll need your help. Both of yours."

Pepper nodded energetically, "Of course, Doctor, of course."

"We will keep her here for 48 hours for more observations and tests. I'll have to do an x-ray, MRI, and a CT scan of her neck tomorrow along with a laryngoscopy for her neck injury. I already did a pulse oximetry, and so far nothing serious has been seen," he informed, preparing himself to leave, "A nurse will be coming here shortly with some blankets and pillows for you Ms. Potts and Mr. Stark."

"Darcy is a lucky girl," Dr. Conrad said as he opened the door, "She is lucky to have survived this and to have you two as parents… Goodnight."

Pepper nodded again and walked closer behind Tony. They heard nothing but the repeating beeps of the EKG machine after the Doctor closed the door.

Silence crept inside the sterile, dull room they've been contained in. A private room has been rented for her sake. The usual functional walls of the hospital rooms were replaced with neutral brown hues. Capacious windows covered a wall, ornate with beige chiffon curtains. The night breeze whistled in quietly to the room, bringing a gentle chill in the atmosphere. Pepper looked down on the checked linoleum floor as Tony continued to just stare at his sleeping daughter.

"Is she, Pep?" Tony intoned, his dark eyes steady on his daughter, "Is she really lucky to have us?"

Pepper's breathing slowed to a sigh. She reached for his shoulder and dropped her hand softly.

"Don't do this to yourself, Tony," Pepper whispered, moving closer to his side, "This is not your fault."

The man didn't respond and persisted on looking upon his sleeping daughter. The anger he felt has already subsided, and nothing filled his veins but the poison of remorse. None of this should have happened. Everything should be easy, carefree, everything as he planned to be. He expected to see this day with his daughter coming home. He expected to see her giggle and laugh like she always did. He expected cake, gifts and smiles.

He was going to give her an official workshop.

Tony Stark may not have mastered the skill of expressing emotions but he knew how to use his own resources. One of them is money. He had a lot of them. So for the commemoration of his daughter's 13th birthday, he bought a small house in the Upper East Side. It was a simple dwelling, a carriage house, which exuded a comfortable, homely atmosphere. It was something he felt he had not provided Darcy—a real home. It wasn't a big mansion atop the crashing waves of the Pacific. Neither was it a cramped dormitory by the river. It was made, well for living.. Designed as a carriage house back in the early 1900s, the interior was quite spacious. Regardless of its four-story structure, the floor plan was artistically divided to accommodate simple, luxurious living. He also had a full and complete functional workplace and laboratory in the basement for his genius daughter's own discretion. It may not be as big as his back in Malibu, but it was packed with all the technology that he had invented, with all the tools needed for engineering ingenuity, with all the devices for creativity. Where Darcy can be free to use a blowtorch.

The first floor will be the garage with a small office—soon would be filled with cars he planned to buy for her 16th birthday. The second floor would have the living room, and the kitchen. The third room will contain her office space and bedroom. The fourth will have the open-air garden and a library.

Moreover, he talked to Stane. Tony convinced him to make a special branch of the Industry in Manhattan. So that he'll be sent there to work more, to spend more time in New York. And the more time he spends in New York, the more he'll be able to see Darcy more. In their new home.

All he wanted to do today was give her the key.

But there she is… motionless… lifeless. Her hair curled up unnaturally by the way it was brutally cut with a knife. Her head covered with a bandage. Her pallid skin blotched with violet and blue, bruised. Her thin, fragile neck, damaged by uncaring hands.

Everything was too much.

"I need a drink," he muttered suddenly, averting his eyes away, "I need one now."

He shut his eyes closed just as Pepper sighed. She knew he wasn't referring to a tall glass of water. She noticed his hands fiddle incessantly against the fabric of his suit. He needed a glass of scotch, and he needed it immediately.

"You can't drink now, Tony," Pepper said softly, holding his hands to stop its persistent shaking, "And you promised not to drink every day."

Tony swallowed, and began licking his lips. His mouth suddenly felt dry, his throat squeezing close. It became a reality to him that he was thirsty all this time. The way his stomach twist and turn, the way his heart thudded like mad, the way his lungs felt incapable of breathing. Something prickled and burned inside his body. The sensation was so unpleasant, discomforting. He was incredibly and utterly parched.

"I'm thirsty," he hissed, his knees quaking nervously, "Pepper, go call a nurse to—"

"All right," Pepper breathed out severely, "This has to stop. You are not 'thirsty'." You don't need to drink."

"Pepper, I feel—" he started, but stopped as a pair of long slender hands reached to cup his face. Pepper's usual stern grey eyes stared back at him, mouth thinned firmly into a line. She held her face with such forcing austerity, so much so he dared not to croak a single breath. Silence delved into his ears, with only the beeping noises of the EKG machine to fill it. The sound was rhythmic and somehow vexing which made him continue to focus on the woman's cold stare.

"What do you feel, Tony?" she started, "What exactly do you feel?"

His throat released dumbfounded air—dull and dead. His eyebrows knitted up in confusion. He doesn't know how exactly to answer the question… which was weird. He always knew the answer.

"You don't know?" she frowned, her voice slowly shaking by each word, "Well I can tell you this…" He watched her take one hand from his cheek to his chest. His gaze still unfazed as she pointed her long finger upon his beating heart. "You see, Tony. That feeling, _this _feeling? This feeling we're feeling right now. That gut-wrenching, heart-stopping feeling," she croaked out, tears welling up her eyes. "That feeling where you have no idea what to do but feel the urge to die feeling? Those chains that wrap around your stomach like a snake feeling? What you just had? That. That, Tony. That what lets you know you're a parent," she sniffed loudly, and stopped pointing at his chest. Instead, she laid her hand gently upon the fabric of his suit, and softly rested upon the slow throbbing of his heart. Her gaze was still perpetually steady as always, but a quivering line replaced the thin grimace of her frown. Her bluish-grey eyes released a more golden glow as her tears reflected the amber light of the room. "Alcohol won't solve that feeling, Tony. I tell you that now. Drinking won't make you forget about that feeling. The cure. The only _damned _cure in this world is you. You. Just you, Tony. You, you will make sure, that with all your power and I know you have lots of them, you will do everything, and I mean _everything_, to make sure that you won't feel that horrible feeling again," she uttered severely.

"And I can't believe I'm saying this now. To think it took me thirteen years to say it, and above all, at a time like this…" she looked away, shaking her head, weakly laughing to herself.

"Say what?" Tony intoned, making Pepper look up with the same steadfast grey eyes.

"That you're finally a dad," she feebly grinned, "That you're finally a father, Tony."

She continued to stare back with her watering eyes. The man, however, didn't know how to react. He didn't know what to say. He's _finally _a father?

"_Finally_?" he repeated, shocked by the statement, "Of course, I've been a fath—

Pepper ignored his astounded skepticism and just shook her head weakly. "No, Tony. To be honest, I never had the feeling that you actually cared for Darcy."

His eyes widened at that second. Rage seeped into his skin and ferociously flooded his system.

"What the hell, Potts?" he growled, pulling away from her with great force. Did she forget about the fact that he took Darcy in? He accepted her, cared for her. He provided her a home, and gifts. He loves Darcy. Did anyone not see that?

"Are you saying I was never a father to Darcy?" he hissed with fuming eyes. Pepper stood up angrily, and backed away. She slowly stepped away to the windows and looked blankly at the vast darkness of the city. Central Park sunk into the deep graces of the night. She looked up to see the moon unseen, veiled by the glooming clouds. She felt Tony moved voraciously, the chairs clattering loudly. "What kind of crap are you spewin—

"You sent her to a boarding school, Tony!" she broke out loudly, turning around to face his angry eyes. Her slender hand snaked around her neck as her voice cracked painfully, "You sent Darcy away. Away from me. Away from you. You keep saying it's for her safety but look where we are now. She was bullied for 5 years and we were never there for her. I don't get to see her for ten months, Tony. And t-then we get a call that she's kidnapped and hurt, and we were 3000 miles away! If we weren't so far away, none of this would have happened. Back then, after you shipped her off to New York, I felt like I was seeing-" Pepper stopped suddenly, realizing what she was about to say. However, Tony caught on.

"Seeing who?" he glowered, making Pepper flinch in her place, "My father? You think you were seeing my father in me? Hah!"

"T-Tony," she croaked out, taking a light step toward him. Grey eyes turned a darker shade as Tony released a garrulous, imprudent laugh.

"Does sending my daughter to a boarding school, like he did to me, automatically turn me into that man?" he grimly chuckled. "It's funny how a little thing like that can immediately turn me into something so horrible. It's… so… funny." His face became straight and monotonous as he enunciated those last three words. His mouth needed not open, for his eyes conveyed the message.

Pepper did not expect the conversation to go this way. They shouldn't be arguing now. It was not just the time. Comparing him to his same-alcohol driven father was a sensitive subject, she should knew that already But she felt that it was necessary. She felt like she needed to blame somebody for all of this. It hurts her heart that she chose Tony.

Letting all the tears fall down from her moistened eyes, she looked straight to the man's dark, fuming eyes. A weak sob broke her throat as her lips quivered. "I know she's not related to me by blood, Tony. But I care for her, I love her like my own!" she cried, "and you sent her away. None of this should have happened…"

She closed her eyes immediately, expecting him to burst into another fit but silence became her only response. She felt him walk away from the bed and heard a soft thud on the wall. The gloomy soberness in his voice pushed her eyes open as he whispered, "She's my daughter too." The frank contamination of the dreadful silence resonated in the room as he leaned his forehead against the amber walls, eyes placidly looking down the floor. "She's my daughter too, Pep."

At that moment, Pepper's heart sank at the depressing countenance before her. Tony was probably blaming himself for all of this, and she was just adding more fire to the burn. Within the span of minutes, the atmosphere was drenched with grim soberness to invidious lividness to remorse penitence. No sun shone upon the deep crevices to the day's happenings. Nothing was found but sadness.

He wanted to defend himself. He wanted to shout in front of the heavens about all his feelings. He wanted to tell everyone the truth—he was the one at fault. He was the one to blame. As much as she wanted to deny the things Pepper was telling him, how he was just like his unaffectionate father, a part of him was forcing him to agree. Did he really bring Darcy to a boarding school for the same reasons his father sent him of? Was Darcy just a hindrance to him like he was to his Howard? Did Darcy not really mean anything to him at all?

No, it couldn't possibly be. The feelings that he felt before… those gut-wrenching, heart-stopping feelings, those were worry—and anxiety. It wasn't the thirst for another glass of scotch. They were pure feelings of parental affection, love that his own father lacked to give. As much as he was the living embodiment of Howard Stark's global empire, he did not want his neglect and inattention as a part of his legacy. He wanted to be a different man. He wanted to be the best father Howard Stark never was. He loves his daughter and he will always will.

A small gasp broke the silence making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Pepper immediately shuffled in her place, eyes darting up to the source. It was the long-awaited breath that they have been yearning to hear. The breath of life that will bring their tired souls to light again—Darcy was gaining consciousness.

The two sauntered hurriedly towards their daughter's side. Tony went to reach for her pallid hand, while Pepper went to the other side to softly caress her cheeks. The little girl released a weak moan, eyebrows wrinkling up. The two adults frowned; worried that she might be experiencing pain.

"The Doctor said she shouldn't feel anything right now," Pepper grumbled, "Tony, is she in pain?" Tony didn't say anything, his eyes fully locked on his daughter. He knew that she was awake but she didn't want them to know.

When Darcy regained consciousness, she didn't want to garner any attention from them. She didn't want them to know she was awake. But the quick shock that pulsed through her system when she felt the pain in her head caused her to lightly gasp. She trembled lightly, her full lips thinning into a pained frown. Her head seemed to be wrapped in something tight. The bandages were suffocating. Her eyes refused to open. She refused to see the wounded eyes of her parents. She was also afraid—afraid that she'll see disdain, contempt, disappointment. She was nothing but a nuisance to their lives, a burden that cannot be carried.

"Kid, I know you're awake. Stop playing," Tony muttered, squeezing her hand softly. Darcy didn't response, inciting Pepper to cup her bruised cheek and stroked it gently. The sensation she was feeling from her hand and cheek was desperately missed. The warmth of their hands were the only thing she craved for this night. A sharp pang in her chest pulsated as she wondered if she had any right to this feeling. What did she to deserve her parents' love? What can she do to atone for her mistakes?

"Babe, it's all right now…" Pepper cooed, brushing her crudely-cut brunette curls with her fingers, "You're safe now. There's no need to be afraid."

At that second she felt Pepper's fingers touch the weak, lifeless mane that she was once so proud of, the remnants of her willpower suddenly faded away. The eyes that she shut off from the world in humiliation finally gave in to Pepper's low murmurs. They closed tighter, squeezing tears to stream down her skin. Pepper could feel the wet, warm liquid touch her caressing hand, bringing a clutching feeling in her heart. Tony stared solemnly as the little girl did nothing but release quiet cries.

"I saw her…" the girl's small voice croaked out, "I talked to her…"

The two adults cocked their heads in confusion. Darcy pushed her face towards Pepper's hand to feel the warmth, eyes still closed. She yearned for this warmth but all she felt was the freezing winter air that encased her system throughout the whole night. She wanted to feel safe again, to bathe in the light where she belonged, to bask in the smiles of her loved ones. But all she felt was the sad frowns of her parents. She couldn't see them but she it was there.

"Who, Darcy?" Pepper pursued, stroking the little girl's cheek. Darcy frowned even more, retrograding back to her happy dream. It hurt so much to realize it was only a dream. It hurt so much that it became a nightmare.

"Mom…" the girl whispered, pained and reluctant, "I saw Mom…"

At that instant, Pepper released an agonized gasp while Tony tightened his grasp. But no words were spoken.

"She was there. She was there with us. Back in Malibu. In the kitchen…" she explained, lips quivering at every word, "She told me how proud she was of me. She told me how she took care of me. How she missed the two of you. How strong you are. She told me how she'd carry me around. How she'd look at me with a smile. How she'd daydream. Ma, she told me how she'd dream about me. Growing up. How she'd br—" she began to sob loudly. Tears pried her eyes open, revealing the anguished look of the ginger-haired woman. A disheartening cry brought pain to her strangled throat. "She told me how she'd wanted to prepare me for school. In front of the mirror. To brush—to brush my hair."

Pepper could feel herself crumble and decay inside as her little girl's face began to distort into a mixture of grief and excruciation, completely veiled with tortured tears. She began to remember her past encounters with Meredith—the calls, the messages. Meredith would always send her pictures of baby Darcy's hair growing into a chockfull of curls. She would say how she couldn't wait for it to grow out. She would say how she'd never get tired of brushing her daughter's long… hair. The nostalgia pierced through her heart like a thousand needles as she saw the said child in front of her. Pepper kept in mind that little daydream Meredith would always tell her about. That's why she never bothered to cut Darcy's hair. It was all for the resurfacing feelings, the warm memories—for Meredith.

"But now it's all gone!" Darcy cried. Her bones cracked as she folded her arms to touch the nonexistent length of her tresses. The skin that dried off because of the wintry air inside a metal container made a disheartening sound as it touch nothing but air. All control flew out of reach as Pepper saw Darcy sob and sob, touching the curls that she once saw, all elegance lost. Her heart stopped as she saw the white bandages around her head. She quickly grabbed the child and encased her in a tight embrace. The girl continued to cry upon her chest as she shed tears of her own. "Baby, shh," Pepper whispered between the sobs, "Everything will be all right. It'll grow out, don't worry."

"I'm sorry, Ma, I'm so sorry!" Darcy muffled her cries in her shirt, winding her arms around the woman. Pepper hugged tighter and continued to whisper comforting mutters. Her little girl was so scared. She was so scared.

"You were so brave, honey. So, so brave," Pepper cooed, smoothing her hand over the little girl's hair, flinching every time she touches her bandages. "No one could ever be as brave and selfless as you, Darcy. Remember that. We were just worried, you know? You're our little girl. Our beautiful, brave Darcy. There is nothing to be sorry for. We love you and you love us. You protect everything dear to you. This time, let us protect _you._"

Pepper began to prop herself to lie next to her crying daughter. She continued to smooth her curls, lulling her to hush down. Slowly beginning to feel the comfort of her mother, Darcy pushed her face upon her bosom and sniffed her suit. The smell was soothing—like the musky air tinge with hint of scotch and flaming parrot tulips. Pepper always smelled like that after being with Tony the whole day. It was nostalgic. It smelled like home.

Gradually, the sobs began to quiet down to nothing but soft sniffles. The calm creamed colors of the room died to the comfort of the night, and red-haired woman continue to pat her daughter's head. A low, gentle hum escaped her throat as she leaned her head next to Darcy, accepting her imminent slumber. Within minutes, the two drifted to sleep, their hearts joined in one beat, their soul rekindled with lost love and eternal promises, and nothing was said but mellifluous lullabies.

Tony didn't do anything but watch. He watched as the most important people exchanged pained cries and endearing words. He watched with a burning desire, he saw unfit of his character. He wanted to tell Darcy that everything will be ok. He wanted to release her of the tension, the frustration. He wanted to embrace that little girl like there is no tomorrow. To proclaim his love like Pepper. But there was something inside that stopped him. Something hindered him, degrading him to only hold the pallid hands of his trembled daughter. The actions that he pictured himself doing, the ones Pepper did instead, he saw them as out of his character. It didn't fit his domineering, haughty persona that everyone knew about. He showed his affection for Darcy in many other ways but it was not as sentimental as the scene before him. He was also afraid—afraid that something unsanctioned would come out that supercilious mouth of his.

Fatigue soon reached his system, pushing him down on the chair by the windows. He turned his back around the two sleeping figures and set his dark eyes upon the vast night. He wondered about Pepper's words before and leaned back on the cushion. The stillness of the moon calmed his beating heart and Pepper's lullaby was continued by the husky hums from his throat. And he fell asleep, thinking about if he really should label himself as Darcy's father. He closed his eyes, realizing that he never said I love you back.

* * *

The night passed like an exasperated sigh. Pepper had left to go talk to Rhodes and Happy about Darcy's state and make a call to Obadiah about their sudden disappearance. Darcy just finished a morning of tests and treatment and was currently resting in her room. It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and she could've rested a bit more but the tart smell of alcohol was so strong that she could not ignore it. Vanilla, and dried fruits filled the air—smoked with spice and maturity. A smell so rich and rare brought a churning twist in her stomach.

"You're angry," she muttered, her voice confidently stating to the man sitting by the window. His hair was disheveled, clad in a wrinkled black t-shirt, his usual signs that he did not sleep well last night. Even more so, he languidly poised himself on the cushion, staring blankly at the window while holding a small crystal glass of scotch.

"Now, why would you say that?" Tony nonchalantly asked, not looking back to his daughter. He maintained his attention upon the clear blue sky above the barren November trees of Central Park, while sloshing the golden liquid in his glass.

"That scotch. You never drink that scotch," Darcy sheepishly explained, "You only drink those kinds when you're angry,"

"Maybe I just want to know what $460, 000 tastes like," he coolly replied, eyeing the liquid in the glass, "The Macallan 55. The oldest in Macallan history."

Darcy rolled her eyes then flinched in pain as she tried to sit up on her bed. It seems that being outside all night froze all her muscles. She tried her best to ignore the missing hair length and maintained her focus on the amber colored liquid in her father's hand.

"Dad, come on, talk to me," she encouraged but the man ignored. He just continued to drink the scotch.

"Ma will be angry if she finds out that you're drinking in the hospital," she added, "You know what happens when Ma gets angry,"

Tony loudly sighed and set the glass over the arm of the chair, and stood up. A straight piercing gaze came upon her view as the man slowly stepped towards the bed. He uttered no words as he took a pillow and fluffed it. He straightened Darcy's back gently, and placed the pillow behind so she can sit up properly. But no matter how gentle he was, Darcy's frozen muscles could not help react to its soreness, making her gasp in pain.

"Does it hurt?" Tony asked with a low voice, looking straight at the girl. The frank placidness of his face brought tingles in her chest. She didn't want to talk about pain. She didn't want to talk about yesterday. She just wanted to forget about it.

"Mmhmm," she muttered, scanning her surroundings. A flicker of light twinkled over her eyes as she found a topic to talk about. "Oh yeah, Dad, Dad, guess what?!" she looked up to his father with her usual bright blue eyes. But Tony failed to see them, as he was too busy fixing the bandages around her head.

"Is the bandage wound up too tightly?" he mumbled, while fixing the hairs around it.

"Okay, no guessing, fine," the little girl frowned, then blatant exuberance replaced her countenance, bopping her head up and down, "But you should know, you should know what happened between me and Jeanne."

"You two were kidnapped last night," he said, now switching his attention over the bruise marks around her neck, "He strangled you, huh?"

"Jeanne said Happy Birthday to me!" Darcy exclaimed happily, raising both her arms up high. She quickly replaced a grunt of pain that was released after that by giggling, "Can you believe that?! And she apologized to me!" But the man just ignored her.

"Stop that," Tony grumbled, pulling her arms down gently, and arranged the IV tubes carefully in her arm, "I can see you wincing in pain, child. Does it hurt? Your neck?"

The blue-eyed girl frowned inwardly at the man's persistent questions. She could have said yes to all his questions but the sheer optimism that was still left in her mind overpowered the rest. Talking about what happened yesterday would only bring more pain.

"Then, you know," Darcy stubbornly pursued, "Jeanne began telling me about—

"DARCY!" Tony bellowed suddenly, causing the little girl to jump in her place, bringing more pain in her muscles. The EKG machine beeped faster for a second, revealing the increase in her heart rate. He let a low hiss, realizing that he let his daughter feel more pain, and turned around in frustration. "God! You keep dodging questions!"

A slight pang pierced through her heart. It wasn't sadness. It wasn't fear. It was anger. With blue eyes narrowing, she whipped her head to the other side in irritation. Pain followed but she ignored. All she wanted was to talk about something else. Why does he have to bring down the mood?

"See I'm right," she huffed, crossing her arms, "You are angry."

"I am angry!" he yelled, turning around again, only to meet the bandaged head of his daughter, "Here I am, asking if anything hurts, and you just keep on talking about other things!"

"Of course, it hurts." Darcy grumbled, still facing the other side. She maintained a blank stare on the neutral amber walls. Whatever she must do, she has to be calm. "Bruises won't heal overnight. I'm sure you're smart enough to know that."

Tony took a small step back. He couldn't help but feel guilty about it, but anger was still present.

"Then why don't you talk, Darcy?!" he yelled again, "You never tell us anything anymore! I don't know if I can leave you alone by yourself anymore! You should have told us that there were two of you. You should have told us everything! And what the hell was with this martyr act? What were you thinking?! You think letting your friend go first would change anything? Did you think that leaving yourself all alone with those people would help? Did you think you'll receive some goddamn salvation if you acted like a superhero? Guess what, Darce? Superheroes don't exist."

"Then what about Spider-man?" she countered.

"That one was just some kid trying to get out of his pathetic life," he waved off the thought.

"What are you talking about? He saved my life!"

"You wouldn't have need saving if you told us in the first place, Darcy!" he shook his head, "God, this is going nowhere,"

"They would've killed us both, if I didn't act right away," she whispered.

"But you're not a superhero, Darcy! You're human!" he bellowed, "You're fragile. You're breakable. You're vulnerable… You're just a little girl."

With one loud sigh, Tony dragged his feet back closer to the bed. He took a chair and slid it under him, and sat. All anger was gone, as he looked at the back of Darcy's head with serious eyes. A hesitant hand took hers.

"Of all times, I lose my cool here," he growled to himself.

"Poor you," Darcy muttered, "Angels are weeping for you,"

Tony ignored the girl's snarky remark and bowed his head. Every time he sees her bandaged head, his heart seems to die a little. "We were just worried, Darcy. Pepper was worried. Hell, she couldn't stop crying. Rhodes was pacing like a maniac, and Happy couldn't stop sweating. Everyone was scared that something bad could've happened to you," he spoke softly, recalling all the moments of anxiety yesterday.

"And you," she added, "You were angry at me." She closed her eyes for his response. She wondered about her past thoughts about Tony never being genuinely angry at her. Today cleared that precedence.

"No, no, honey," he shook his fervently, "I wasn't angry at you. Hell, Darce, I was dying inside the whole time." His voice was low and deep. Telling all his feelings was uncomfortable. He could be honest to anything, but the hardest thing is being honest to himself… "I was angry at _myself_, Darce. I was angry at myself for letting all of this happened. I try to keep things under my control. Because shit like this tend to happen. Everything is planned, calculated. You'd be in a boarding school where you'll be safe. And we'd come and get you for holidays. But one small thing happened, and I let one inconsistency happen. I added one more variable into the equation. I added one more piece to the puzzle and everything goes wrong. You get kidnapped, and you get hurt. And forget about me, spewing out nonsense about how you weren't a hero. God, I think you're better than arachnid guy. I'm so goddamn proud of you, and I don't know if I, myself, would be able to do that for someone else I don't really know. I was just angry because I couldn't anything for you. I was angry because you got hurt. I don't know. This never happened to me before. I didn't know what do. I was just… so scared. Yes I was scared. I was scared that something worse might have happened to you."

His voice cracked in the end, but he knew that it was already too late to stop. "I was scared that you might've ended like my parents… like Meredith."

"Pepper told me this is just natural," he added, "All this crap I'm feeling. I don't know. Maybe I'm trying too hard. I just want to be different, you know? I know it's in my blood to be a self-obsessed jerk, but I just want to be that one person who will always there for you. Darcy, I just want to be your father."

Besides the faint beeps from all the machines, nothing can be heard but silence. Tony released a quick sigh. He expected sobs and cries from the little girl but he heard nothing. Not even a tiny squeak. He then wondered about yesterday. His daughter has cried so much, even more than he imagined, more than he ever saw. He wondered about all the pain that she suffered, all the pain that he, himself, went through. Seeing her cry again would just bring more agony and guilt. But as the father he thrived to be, he has to learn how to absorb all of those gut-wrenching feelings. He has to feel them now, so that he'll make sure that he won't feel those feelings ever again.

"And I'm just trying to be your daughter," she finally spoke. Tony raised his head to meet his daughter's eyes. Darcy looked down on him with her azure eyes, moist and bright, but steady with seriousness. Her mouth moved softly as she uttered her words, "I just wanted to be useful, independent. So that you guys won't never have to worry like this. I just wanted to be the one who is always there for everyone. To save all of you from problems. To be nothing like a hindrance. I've spent all my life being cared for. Now, it's my turn to care."

She took her hand off under her father and placed it over his and clenched it. "I'll never cry again just like I did last night. I'll never be the one who'd cower in the corner and sob. I'll do everything in my power that you and Ma and anyone will never get hurt because of anything. Because of me. I will never say sorry for my decisions last night. I may be hurt. I may be scared as hell, but I know I just saved a life and I will do everything to continue that belief. Heroes do exist, Dad. You are my hero. Ma is my hero. Meredith—Mom, is my hero. Now, let me be there for you guys. Let me do what I can. Let me be the hero, for once. And I'll make sure, that you won't ever feel like that ever again."

At that instant, she pushed herself towards his father and encased him in a powerful embrace. Tony didn't hesitate and hugged her back. They stayed like that for half an hour until Pepper came in with a small cake. It was a recognizable cake—chocolate with strawberries. She remarked that it was given by a masked man clad in red, blue and black. Darcy grinned as Pepper added that he wished her a Happy Birthday. Tony smirked as she said that he fled away by shooting webs.

* * *

_Five years later._

* * *

Darcy can still remember that day vividly. She was never able to forget about it. The kidnapping was sure horrible and nightmarish. It scarred such a trauma in her mind, that led her to carry a black and yellow gun around her at all times. For five years, after that day, she carried a Taser like her shield, and like her sword. She still has not used it on someone like she did with the Black Fox and probably because it was illegal to use in New York, but it never left her bag. Maybe someday, a man would come and threaten everyone's safety, and she'll be there with 70,000 volts.

But, she doesn't need a Taser now. What she needed is the genius that she inherited from her father. As she looked around the living room, she sees Pepper in the phone with her Uncle Rhodey. Frantic shouts and questions can be heard from either side of the telephone. Happy was seated in the couch, sweating like a pig. His eyes trembled quietly as he watched the headlines flash 7 o'clock morning news.

Without any hesitation, she stood up from the couch and made her way towards the stairs.

"Honey, babe, where are you going?" Pepper asked her, almost crying, "Rhodes just told us to stay inside—

"Don't worry, I'll just be downstairs," Darcy replied stoically. Pepper returned to her call while she stepped down the stairs. She mindlessly punched in the code, and the lights slowly flicked on one by one.

"JARVIS? You there?" She asked, as she walked towards the computer tables. She looked blankly at the array of sport cars behind the clear screens of the computers as she waited for the AI to response.

_Yes, Ms. Darcy?_

"I want you to hack through all databases, through _everything_, about what just happened. Tap through all calls coming in and out of the country pertaining to Afghanistan and provide an hourly status from the station in Kabul," Darcy demanded, sliding the chair closer to the table. All the screens turned on and frenzied fingers began typing on the keyboard. One screen flashed the CIA firewall. One displayed the Interpol website. Codes and letter scrolled through all of the screens as Darcy typed relentlessly. Eyes became a monotonous shade of blue as her glasses reflected the bright monitors.

_Shall I also conduct a search, ma'am?_

"No, you don't have to do it." Darcy replied, clicking enter, revealing an old newspaper article across the screens.

_The PSLV-CA variant, ANUSAT Satellite… this is set for launch in 2 weeks, ma'am._

"I know," she mumbled.

_Hacking NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization is quite the precedence, Ms. Darcy. I'm afraid it will take a while for me to bypass the firewalls with other tasks at hand._

"I told you, JARVIS," she sighed, "You don't have to do it. Just focus on what I gave you."

_Very well. Then may I ask why are you opening my old code files and log permutations?_

"I'm making my own AI, JARVIS. It's about time you have a new friend."

Darcy looked through the farthest screen. It showed a clock, ticking with every second. Just two hours ago, three groups of hostiles were reported to have ambushed two squadrons on set to arrival to the Kabul base. The ambush suffered multiple causalities and many injured. And most importantly, the ambush has gained captive of the world's greatest industrialist.

As she stared at a picture of her father's face, a photo taken during his Jericho presentation, she vowed that she'll do everything in her power to save him. Just like the watch around her wrist, just like how he'll always find her, she'll do everything to rescue him. It was her duty as Tony Stark's daughter.

"I'll find you, Dad… I'll find you."

* * *

_I wanted to continue with Darcy's childhood. Especially with high school. But then I got death threats from people, saying they have been getting impatient. Well not death threats, but close to that. So next chapter will be about the Iron Man movie, kay?_

_For those who still look forward to Darcy's high school life, first of all, bless your beautiful soul. You understand me. And second, I'll probably make separate story about it. I think that one will involve more of experiences with Jeanne and Alex and hint, hint... How can Darcy have the watch by the time she's 18 years old if Spiderman didn't give it back that night?_

_Poll results: Darcy/Steve won._

_For the people who are ready to send more death threats [or close to that] please read the next chapter._


	17. Author's Annoying Note

Dear loyal readers and passionate shippers,

Before this turns into some big brouhaha, I need to say a few things.

First, this the poll results [from reviews, tumblr messages and PMs]

Darcy/Steve – 46  
Darcy/ Peter – 37

And for the people who voted for Darcy/Steve, 52.3% of them suggested that there be Darcy/Peter friendship.

So whether you like or not, this will be, in the end, be a Darcy/Steve story. I have already started writing Chapter 17 and the first chapter of my new Darcy Stark story: _Memoirs of a Teenage Snark. _

In this story, I will be focusing more with Darcy's teenage life. This includes the aftermath of the kidnapping, some more of Darcy and Tony father-daughter relationship, and more of her high school life. High school life meaning more Jeanne, more Ivy, more Alex, and more Peter Parker.

Yes. Peter Parker.

For _Another Stark One, _the story would evolve around with the fact that Tony Stark has a freaking daughter. That's the whole point of this story. He. Has. A. Freaking. Daughter. It's not about the romance relationships. I wanted to show that the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist does actually have heart way even before the movies. I wanted something to show that he has been caring for someone before his abduction.

This story will now focus on the movies, starting with _Iron Man. _The timeline for this is simple. Each movie will occur corresponding to the movie release dates. To clarify more, _Iron Man _came out the year 2008, so Tony's abduction will happen when Darcy is 18 years old, as she was born in 1990. This will be the same for _The Incredible Hulk _(2008),_ Iron Man 2_ (2010), _Thor _(2011) _Captain America: The First Avenger_ (2011) and _The Avengers_ (2012). Each movie will have an impact on Darcy Stark's life in some way, or shape possible and she will be involved into more endeavors as she carries her father's name.

I think this is a fair compromise to this shipping debacle. Darcy will have Peter as her best friend [maybe first love because everyone needs a first love] and later Darcy will end up with Steve.

Also, I do apologize for all disappointments. All of you seemed really upset that Darcy/Steve won the poll—to the extent that some of you have decided to stop reading this story. It breaks my heart because I am really trying my best to please all of you. I aim to make my writing likable and it seems that I have failed some of you. I am sorry again.

To the readers that have started ever since Chapter One, I thank all of you with all my heart. It means a lot to find that some people can actually understand my writing, like it, and follow it regardless of my failures. Truth to be told, I have only decided to write this story because I needed something to keep me from total depression. I was lonely, and sick and I had nothing to do but roll around in self-hate. All my friends were far away, having the time of their lives. 3 of them were continuing their groundbreaking research in a university, making new and better friends while I'm just at home watching my baby brother. One was in a chorale group having their performances in Israel and Austria, meeting new people and seeing great places, while I just cower in my corner with constant fevers and pains. Like you guys can say that "You could've talked to them with skype or facebook" and yes, I admit, I could have done all that. But it felt like I'd become a bother because they all look like they're having so much fun.

I just felt horribly insignificant and incompetent.

Then I started reading my old comics again as distraction and watched Marvel movies. I fell in love again with the characters I grew up with, and I fell in love with Darcy's character. This story keeps me distracted to my problems and other life nuisances… and it's an efficient to improve my writing for college applications. People ask me what I did during the summer and I always confidently say that I started a fanfic. Yes, like "Bitches, I wrote a fanfic." They would always comment with a snarky laugh, "Why?" with an intonation of "You didn't do anything cool?" with an implication of "Lmfao you're a loser."

I could always just lie and say that I just stayed at home and did other shit but I am actually proud of this [I heard some people are ashamed of telling people they write fanfics. I don't get that.] As I started writing, my grammar and vocabulary expanded and I even started reading more classical books and even wrote poetry. That says a lot because _I hated poetry._ And I started painting and drawing again, because of the things I was writing and even got money from it. This sort of thing maybe unimportant to others, maybe uncool, but it became some sort of therapy to me, and I'm proud of it. Bitches can hate.

I thank you all again and sorry for raising false hopes that this be a new chapter. Sorry, it was just me being annoying, sensitive attention-whore. Sorry again. I will try to write more long chapters and update fast as possible. Although I am encumbered with college apps and school, I will try my best to write more.

I give you all one big hug, because I love you all.

Thank you for your time. I don't talk about my feelings that much so... yea. Thank you.


	18. ASTRID

_Guys. Guyz. Guise. I love all of you, you know that. ALLLL OF YOU. Those messages, man, I cried reading them. I cannot thank you enough for being such great readers. You know I read them every time I feel sad and shitty. I always feel happy and warm inside after reading them. Thank you again. I love you my lovebugsss. HUGS FOR EVERYONE. _

_I feel so bad giving you this crappy chapter in return. The only excuse I can make is writer's block. I used to have a whole timeline of what's going to happen, but I realized that most of it was not plausible enough and it was hard to make up a new one. Moreover, Hurricane Sandy happened and my power went out. So I started writing this chapter with my dying iphone. Then a noreaster storm came which took down a pole in my block and took out power and wifi. I'm very very very sorry. _

_Now this chapter is not as long as my other ones. But I think the next one will be its normal, long length. I still have college apps to do but I'll try to write to update more. Also, the Darcy/Peter story, the other readers wanted, Memoirs of a Teenage Snark,has been already uploaded, well two chapters of them, so I'll be writing that too. _

_Some scenes below will be quite familiar, as I am gearing on with the Marvel movies. Sorry again for it being crappy._

* * *

**Automatic Synchronous Transmit Receiver & Information Digitizer**

* * *

_48 hours earlier._

_Good morning. It's 7 am. The weather in Malibu is 72 degrees with scattered clouds. The surf conditions are fair with waist-to-shoulder highline. High tide will be at 10:52 am…_

Tony Stark does have a way with women, she thought. Christine Everhart was always professional. As leading journalist of Vanity Fair, she has the power to get any story she wants without batting an eyelash. Last night proved Tony could do the same. In this case, it wasn't for a story. He only spoke and here she was on his bed, tousled haired. While marveling at the crystal blue waters of the Pacific, she wondered. Where is that devil?

Realizing that her clothes are nowhere to be found, she grabbed his shirt from the floor and stepped lightly on the marble flooring, with eyes wandering on everything. She figured that she should leave right away. If one living soul were to see her in his house in that state, she would lose that earned professionalism that she tries so hard to maintain. But then she also realized that she was in the house of the man people would kill to be acquainted with. She was in Tony freaking Stark's mansion, for Pete's sake. A reporter like her should not let this one-in-a-lifetime chance to slip away. Biting her lip to maintain her excitement, careful blue eyes eyed everything with scrutiny. Everyone has secrets, and she can't wait to find out Tony Stark's.

"Tony?" she called, trying to look innocent while curious eyes drifted on every nook and cranny of the Stark household, "Hey, Tony?"

She spotted a long corridor, white but unlit. Various paintings decorated the cream walls. She noticed most of them are very renowned ones, she'd assume would cost millions of dollars each. If only she had her recorder. Everything would be easier to remember that things she was uncovering.

"I see Rothko, two Pollock's, Koonings…" she muttered to herself, and then she gasped, "Could this be…? Oh it is!"

She tip-toed closer to the arcade of bookshelves. There were at least 10 of those dark brown oak shelves and she knew very well what they were. She ran her fingers across the dusting spines of the leather bound books. She has heard of these books. They were Howard Stark's valuable collection of engineering and other philanthropic books. She couldn't believe her eyes when she realized that ninety percent of these collections are first-edition publications.

The bookshelves end before a small rectangular glass screen. She cocked her head to the side, thinking if it was some kind of Stark tech. Judging from the facilities she visited before, she concluded that it was some kind of lock. But it's weird. There are no doors around. Curiosity filled her mind like a child. These were all getting too interesting. She smirked to herself as she reached to tap the keypad. She could already smell the Pulitzer once she finds the door the opens with this lock.

And the smell is gone when it immediately turned red.

_You are not authorized to access this area. _

"Jesus!" she jumped as the disembodied voice blocked her. Right. How can she be so stupid? Of course it wouldn't allow her in.

"No, that's JARVIS," a voice piped in. the blonde immediately recoiled back to her cool composure as she heard the voice. She knew the voice and she knew it well.

"He runs the house," she spoke again, meeting the reporter with her usual business smile, "I've got your clothes here. They've been dry-cleaned and pressed, and there's a car waiting for you outside that will take you anywhere you'd like to go."

The woman flipped her hair and smirked, "You must be the famous Pepper Potts."

Pepper only returned a kind smile. "Indeed I am."

"After all these years, Tony still has you picking up the dry-cleaning," she sneered, aiming to intimidate. But Pepper was completely unfazed.

"I do anything and everything Mr. Stark requires, including, occasionally, taking out the trash."

The blonde frowned.

"Will that be all?"

* * *

oOo

* * *

_ The compression in cylinder three appears to be low._

"Log that." Tony ordered his computer, as he looked through the hologram of the engine. His ears perked up as he heard distinct footsteps descending down his stairs. Only three people are allowed to interrupt him when he's working in his shop—and that is Darcy, Pepper and Rhodey. Well, he didn't allow them, but they are stubborn enough to disturb him. Darcy is in New York and Rhodey is somewhere so deduced that it was Pepper tapping the code to the code. And he was right as the guitar solo blaring through his speakers muted.

"Please don't turn down my music," he mumbled, but the assistant ignored.

"You are supposed to be halfway around the world right now." Pepper sighed.

"How'd she take it?" he arched his eyebrows, as he finished up with the engine.

"Like a champ," she smiled weakly. _Considering how she almost went inside Darcy's room. _ "And your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and half ago."

"That's funny, I thought with it being my plane and all… that it would just wait for me to get there," he stated.

"Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple of things," she added, looking through the book, "before I get you out of the door."

"Honestly, doesn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plan if it departs before you arrive?" he sighed, "And why is it only me? When Darcy's late, you guys always wait for her."

"Larry called." Pepper disregarded his comment and just continued on, "He's got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes or no."

"And nobody complains when you're late." He whined. "Is it a good representation of his spring period?"

"I'm never late," she retorted, "And no. The Springs was actually the neighborhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not 'spring' like the season."

"Right, you're never late. And so?" he shrugged.

"I think it's a fair example," she replied, "I think it's incredibly overpriced."

"I need it. Buy it. Store it."

"Okay. The MIT commencement speech…" she breathed out.

"…is in June." Tony added. "Please, don't harangue me about stuff way, way, down… How about Darcy's graduation? When is that? What are we wearing?"

"That is also in June, Tony, but different days, fortunately," she gives him a look, "They're haranguing me, so I'm gonna say yes."

"Deflect it and absorb it. Don't transmit it back to me," he muttered as he spins the engine's hologram, "And Darcy's graduation?"

"…is before the commencement speech. You should talk to her about that. She wants to go," she told him, taking his phone out to put on the table near him. Tony grabbed it right away and started tapping through the device.

"This girl. Why would she want to go? She doesn't even want to go there… What's so great about Empire U anyway…" he rolled his eyes. Pepper smirked.

"You're just upset that she didn't want go to your college."

"If not MIT, why not Culver? Culver has an exceptional bio-engineering program and those political fixations she's always raving about…"

"Let her do what she wants first. Political science is what interests her so let her be," she shrugged, "And you inspired her, you know that."

"Politics was never my thing," he smirked, "It was more of her mother's thing."

"And yet, you're the United States most powerful weapons manufacturer."

"Ah, the beauty of diplomatic strategy."

"Yes, Mr. Nuclear Deterrent," Pepper smiled, "And I went to Empire U so it'd be best if you stop talking."

"You and Meredith," he shook his head, "Now, Darcy? What's so great about that besides it's in New York?"

Pepper deflected the question with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow. "I need you to sign this before you get on the plane. It's a permission slip for Darcy's senior trip."

"What are you trying to get rid of me for? You got plans?" he joked, going to her to look at the document. He smirked, "Vermont? Who goes to Vermont for a trip?" He signed anyway.

"It's not exactly a Stark-funded excursion," she responded, "And as a matter of fact, I do."

"I don't like it when you have plans," he narrowed his eyes at her. Pepper inwardly grinned as she recalled her years back when she just started being his assistant. Back then, he couldn't wait to get rid of her.

"I'm allowed to have plans on my birthday," she smiled flatly.

Tony raised an eyebrow, "It's your birthday?"

"Yes."

"I knew that. Already?" he asked coolly inserting his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah. Isn't that strange? It's the same day as last year." She smirked, "Darcy remembered."

"Get yourself something nice from me," he said immediately, trying to cover up his mistake.

"I already did.

"And?"

"It was very nice. Darcy think so too, when she saw it."

"Yeah?" Tony looked at her with a suspicious look, "And when was this?"

"I just got back from New York, two hours ago."

"And I wasn't invited…" he frowned. "You were kind of busy." Pepper added, hinting his recent experience with the beautiful Christine Everhart.

"But it's very tasteful," she quickly commented, "Thank you, Mr. Stark."

"You're welcome, Ms. Potts."

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Okay, ladies. Take five," Tony ordered. The flight attendants playfully frowned at him and stopped dancing. As he pushed the inebriated Rhodey softly on the cushion, the girl leave the room to resume on their real jobs. He muttered 'mute,' shutting off all the music and lights on the plane. He dug his hand into his pockets to reach for his phone. It should be around 12 noon in New York.

"You're more than what you are, Stark," Rhodey mumbled as he waited for his recipient to answer, "You don't have to be like me."

"You're wasted, bud," he chuckled. Then the ringing stopped.

_Hello? Dad?_

"Hey, Darce. Just passing through New York," he said as he looked down upon the window, "Pepper said you wanted to talk?"

_There's a lot of planes flying over here so I don't exactly know which one to wave to, _she laughed, _and yeah. Hey, Dad, can come to your commencement speech?_

"What's the point of coming if you're not going to the school?" he teased, "Honestly, you're valedictorian and they planned on giving you a full ride."

_Too many smart people cramped into one campus. I'm already intimated by you so why go for more trouble? And come on, I just want to see your speech. One of my teachers told a story that you managed to give out a lecture on circuitry and evolutionary computations while inebriated. I'd pay to see that._

"I'd give it sober, just for you, nerd-brain," he smirked, earning a frustrated groan from his daughter, "I guess this is a phase, right? Is this a time to become rebellious?"

_Right, 17 is my rebellious age, Dad. _

"I can sense you rolling your eyes at me," he smirked.

_Ugh! Dad, why are you so controlling?! I want to get five doctorates not three!_

"Don't talk to me in that tone, young lady!" he mockingly gasped, "Face reality, Darce! You're never getting a career with a political science degree!"

_You're the worst parent ever! I'll get a biochemical degree just to annoy you!_

Tony laughed along with his daughter. "Was that our take on being a normal family?"

_I think that was a good try, ahaha. Although judging by the people around me, I'm still weird._

"Being normal is overrated," he scoffed,"Shouldn't you be in class?"

_The valedictorian is exempt from classes._

"Since when?" he chortled, "I don't remember myself being exempt from classes back then."

_You're getting too old, Dad. _

"Or you're just cutting. Kid, you are getting too many bad influences,"

_You mean __you__, aha? Nah, it's lunchtime now so I'm in the school's workshop._

"You should just say yes to the new shop already. Consider it an early college gift."

_No, I am not going to use your shop in the MetLife Building. I rather make something in a hole with a box of scraps than use a new one. Besides, I already have one back home._

"You refused the Audi, and this. You making me look bad here, child," he frowned, "What kind of father am I to neglect you of lavish things?"

_Uh, a good one? You'd be an even greater one, if you come to my graduation_.

"Darcy," his voice turned severe, "You know, I wouldn't miss it for the world." And he could feel her smile through the phone.

_And bring me to your commencement speech?_

"That I don't know," he smirked.

_Come on! _Then she pauses. _I won't tell Ma to wear her new dress to my graduation._

"So it's a dress, huh?"

_She bought two. One of them she bought with your money. And I gotta tell you, Dad, backless never looked so gorgeous. _

"I'm interested." He muttered as he looked through his window. The sky looked especially blue today. He pictured a certain red-hair wearing the same shade.

_So I guess it's a deal, then. Remember June 24__th__ okay?_

"We'll be there, dressed like normal people." He grinned, "Except for Pep."

_Promise?_

"With all my heart, Darce." His gaze softened. Even for all the mistakes he had done in the past and yesterday, he's doing everything he can to do right with Darcy. It's the only time where he can just be himself, with no other people's criticism and judgment. He's always there for her, and she's always there for him. Now was not the time to make an exception. He may not be the greatest human being out there, but at least he's a better father.

_Okay, you hear that? That's the bell. I better go back to class. _

"All right, kid."

_Have fun on your business trip. Blow them army people away and say hi to Uncle Rhodey for me._

"He would, but he's incapable right now." He chuckled as he looked at his snoring friend.

_Ease down on the alcohol, and be safe, okay?_

"You too. Especially in Vermont. It's a dangerous place," he teased.

_And so is Afghanistan. Be safe again and talk to you again in three days. Love you, Dad._

Only Darcy can make him say it too. No one can. Only this little kid of his can make say those words.

"I love you too, Darcy."

* * *

oOo

* * *

"That jerk." Darcy hissed, her glasses glaring through the computer screens as she typed in an inhuman speed, "I told you it's dangerous. You better be safe."

Hours and hours have passed since she locked herself in Tony's workshop. She hasn't eaten, or bathed, because in all honesty, she didn't care. She didn't care about the throbbing pain slithering up and down her spine and neck. She didn't care about her immovable feet for staying still for too long. She didn't care about school or anything. All she needed to do was to finish what she needed to finish so she can breathe a little easier.

_Ms. Darcy, Ms. Potts is attempting to gain access again._

"Ignore," she ordered as stretched her neck side by side. She doesn't need to see anyone at the moment. Even Pepper. The woman tried to take her away from the seat but Darcy kept refusing. She kept coming back to the point where fatigue and pain has already plagued Darcy's system rendered her quick-tempered side on. The woman tried to tell her that everything was under control and that it'd be best for her to go sleep. Darcy didn't say anything but push her towards the door and changed all the passwords accessing the lab. No one is getting in or out. Not until her father is found.

_The 28__th__ Echo Company based in Kabul has received news of an attack on a small village 100 clicks near Mr. Stark's abduction. Many men are also abducted from their families. It seems that this particular hostile group is gathering men._

"They wouldn't just kidnap my Dad, if they needed men," she inferred, "They need him for something else. There's a piece to this puzzle and I have to find out what." She groaned loudly, stifling a yawn.

_It would be best that you rest tonight, Ms. Darcy._

"Not you too, JARVIS," she hissed as she scrolled through pages of code. She was indeed tired, and cranky, but she has to finish this as soon as possible. Writing more than three hundred pages of code cannot and shouldn't be disturbed. "We gotta find Dad, JARVIS, you know that?"

_It would be unwise if you continue any further. The human brain can only take so much._

"That's why I'm making this!" she hissed, her fingers getting heavy on the keyboard. Anger and irritation flowed through her fingers as she typed. She thought it was going to be easy. Sure, Tony made JARVIS in a span of 5 years, but that was because the technology back then couldn't go along with Tony's innovative mind. But now, 2008, it shouldn't take as long. She has her father's old logs and files, it should be easy to imitate the algorithms and process the evolutionary computations. And with JARVIS to help her, it should have been easy to modify the codes. She should've been done in one day.

But it's not. Everything is not going as planned. Here she was, dragging her fingers back and forth across the keyboard like a machine. She had been sitting like doll for hours and hours, dust was beginning to collect on the surface of her glasses and she was pretty sure the grade of her eyesight just went a notch lower. All these codes and all the news about his abduction has been on the screen. They should help. But it was taking too long.

"Wait! Oh my god, yes. JARVIS, knowledge representation achieved," she called out. A small smirk pulled her frown. Finally she's getting somewhere.

_Awaiting reasoning engineering… complete. Processing commonsense qualifications… complete. Input ontological domains and representations… complete. Combinatorial algorithms updated and sensorimotor networks embedded. Basic computation intelligence installation is successful, Ms. Darcy._

"Perfect," she smiled weakly. "Now, I just have to program the automated planning utilization server and the affective computing part," she sighed.

_You still have to program the localization, mapping, and the information retrieval sub-nets, Ms. Darcy. Moreover, developing a self-replication system and code injection capabilities would be useful._

"Ugh. This is not working," she grimaced, sinking her down onto the desk, "This is all too much. I can't do this." She let her forehead touch the cold glass desk. It was a comforting sensation, so nice and cold. She wondered if her bed would feel the same. She wondered if her pillows would welcome her with open arms, and her silk blankets to envelop her of—"Oh crapballs."

Nope. She can't sleep. She shouldn't sleep. Every hour, every minute, every second should not be wasted. She needed every time to do whatever she can so that her father wouldn't spend one more second in whatever they're keeping him. She needed everything so that he wouldn't get any chances of getting hurt.

She let her body fall back on the chair, her head looking up on the ceiling. "Dad," she took a deep breath, "Where the hell are you?"

Darcy was also afraid—afraid that once she closes her eyes, she'd start seeing things.

_Again. _

Yesterday, just as she was finishing making the operating system, she decided to take a nap. Just a simple break. She hoped that closing her eyes would just open her back to reality, rendering all of this as just a vivid nightmare. But when darkness came, more of the nightmare ensued.

She heard _him._

Screaming.

Crying in pain.

She heard him groan in agony, curse in excruciation. Everything was red, and smelled like metal rusting—as if everything was covered in blood. Then she saw his eyes that were no longer bright of life. They were dull, no longer warm like chocolate but almost black. Black like death. Air was immediately knocked out of her lungs, and her heart throbbed maniacally as if anxiety and fear were closing in on it. The feeling was unbearably painful, as if splinters pierced through every muscle and bone.

Then everything went black.

Cold.

Metallic.

It scared her. To be in the middle of the shadows, it was incredibly horrifying. Her lips quivered as the pure darkness contaminated her system. A whirring sound began to fill her ears. Gunshots rang in the ear. And the sound of metal clinking continued on loop. The sounds were incessant, never-ending. It grew louder, and louder, and louder, until she felt her ears bleed. What was even more terrifying, and deafening was the sound of him breathing. Then it stopped.

Darcy immediately woke up right after that, screaming "DAD!" with all the air in her lungs. She found herself sweating cold sweats, and her skin ten shades paler than usual. Eyes were bloodshot and wide open like saucers. Her chest heaved, hyperventilated. Her shoulders drooped down as if heavy rocks weighed her down. She couldn't stop shaking for hours, until she distracted herself again with the computers.

Finding Tony would only remedy the nightmares.

"Sleeping is for the weak," she convinced herself as she resumed typing. She reached for her near-empty can of Red Bull and finished it. She let the caffeine drown her, shaking all the distractions away.

_Ms. Darcy, there is an incoming call—_

"No, no, no," she sighed, "Tell Mom, I'm fine. I went to the bathroom already and I have a box of PopTarts here by DUMMY—Uh no, DUMMY I didn't call you. No, I don't want a PopTart right now, Dummy relax." The robot dropped its claw, dejected. Darcy noticed it, so she reached her hand to get a piece of the PopTart. She smiled, "The things I do for you, you little piece of metal."

_I'm afraid—_

"No, JARVIS," she countered, "Tell her to go to work or whatever. Don't they need her to run the company?" Pepper has been haranguing her to leave the lab to rest. Every two hours, she would come down, begging for her to go up and eat. She would stay there—locked out by Darcy—with eyes red from crying. The woman was severely fatigued, completely overwhelmed by the events. It breaks Darcy's heart to see her like that. Pepper Potts has always been so strong, but things like these just tears down her walls like a nuclear bomb. Darcy sighed again. She wanted to open the door for her, and let her in. She wanted to just come into her arms and hug all the pain and worry away—to just cry endlessly, hopelessly wishing for everything to become just a nightmare. But she promised herself that she wouldn't cry, no matter what. Tears are a sign of weakness, desperation. Nothing would ever amount to that.

_It is 8:24 PM, Ms. Darcy. Ms. Potts is currently in the living area tryi—_

"Wow, only 12 hours passed?" she muttered, eyes not straying from the screen, "I guess I'm doing every right so far, right?"

_A day has passed, Ms. Darcy._

"Well then," she frowned. "I guess everything is not going right. Ain't that wonderful?" She scowled at herself, burying her face in her palms. She rubbed her eyes carelessly, and ran her fingers through her now unfurling hair. Then blue eyes stared at the screens blankly. Upon the strings of blue letters and numbers scrolling up and down, she saw an image of man. He wore a sophisticated dark blue suit. He wore his trademark goatee. She saw aloof eyes staring into her, with his million-dollar smirk. Red numbers blinked egregiously under his picture. It marked the time of his estimated time of abduction, and the numbers continued to increase per second. Then above those behind those numbers ticking, she saw a faint image of a girl. She wore a thick green cashmere sweater. Her brunette hair was all over the place, little curls sticking out at every end. She was incredibly pale, with dark circles around her eyes. The girl was frowning. The girl looked like she was about to cry.

_Ms. Darcy?_

Her voice was hoarse, "Y-yeah?"

_The incoming call… I have traced it back to the Bagram Air Base stationed in Kabul. It seems that the connection is being transmitted through the Stark ZIPSAT satellite. _

Darcy perked up. Only a number of people knew how to use the Stark satellite communication. "Accept," she ordered and all the code on the computer screens swiped away. The monitors blinked, and she began hearing voices of people. Her heart thumped as she waited for the caller to come out. The camera slowly focused, and suddenly air was knocked out of her lungs.

"U-Uncle Rhodey?" she gasped as she finally saw the man on the other side of the camera.

He weakly chuckled, "Hey, Darce."

An exasperated gasp exhaled through her mouth, dark cobalt orbs turned into a stunned aquamarine. She felt her fingers shake on the keyboard as the man before her frailly smiled. A cold and sinking realization came over her as she looked at him with quivering eyes.

A stained bandage circled his head, browned by blood. His face was covered in dirt and cuts. His usual warm brown eyes were shadowed by a dark intention, knitted eyebrows in remorse. His thin smile immediately disappeared with a frown. Behind him was nothing but the heavy black veil of melancholy and regret.

Darcy was hesitant to speak. Rhodey just looked so… so heartbroken.

"Is-is—" she squeaked, "Is he—

Rhodes frowned deeply, squeezing his eyes shut to block the memories hours before. He bowed his head, and buried his face in his hands. A deep and shaky breath followed. "N-no, Darce," he muttered, "He's not with us…"

Her mind reeled with fear and anxiety. She gripped her hands together as Rhodes talked. Each phrase was a trembling sound, each word a desperate cry. She knew that the feelings she was felt was already agonizing and nerve-wracking but Rhodes… he was actually there. He was there in the line.

"It went too fast, Darcy," he croaked painfully, "It all went too fast."

Darcy clenched her teeth as she heard slow and pained gasp between his sentences. His voice was so low, that it was no more of a suffocated breath scarcely to be heard.

"It was an ambush. I-I called Pepper just before I was knocked out. I had to make sure you guys are safe. I-I don't know why this is happening, Darcy," he stammered, "It just all went too fast."

Blue, watery eyes looked up to the ceiling. She forced them open to let the blinding fluorescent light dry the tears that were threatening to come.

"People won't tell me anything. They wouldn't tell me a damn thing," he hissed.

Her sight was blurring. No, she can't cry. She shouldn't cry. She has to be strong. She promised.

"We're going to find him," she whispered, "We're going to bring him back home." The man's soul was weary, burdened with deep regret. She hoped to shine some light upon him, the light of motivation, but Rhodes only brought his down lower to desk and slammed his fist onto the wood.

"I told him to stay down!" he finally looked up, growling, "I told him to stay back, Darcy, goddamn it!" She whimpered lowly as she noticed his eyes become an ominous black, blank and motionless. Red veins sprawled from the shadows of his irises, trembling with sorrow. "But he couldn't hear me! There was too much fire. All my men and women are dropping like flies because of those assholes and he was running around like a moron! God, if you could hear how much I screamed, 'Get down!' But he just wouldn't listen!"

"We're going to find him, Uncle Rhodey," she whispered. His eyes were getting redder.

"And you know what, Darcy?" he wept, "He kept yelling at me too. I-I heard him. But he couldn't hear me. I heard his voice louder and clearer than all of the bullets that I was shooting. He kept calling me. With that damn face of his, he just kept yelling, 'Rhodey! Rhodey! Rho…"

The first drop of tear was about to fall. He blinked it away.

"…dey," he finished with a fatigued breath; his cheeks glistened with relentless tears. Silence flooded the room, with only the sound of her slow throbbing heart. "And it hasn't stopped since," he sighed, "I can still hear him. I can still hear him calling for me. I can still hear him calling for help."

Darcy stared at him with storming eyes. She gritted her teeth. She was angry. She was confused. She was in agony. All of them felt at the same time. She wondered where all the emotions are coming from. She was always so apathetic to situations. She never showed any emotions. It's something she mastered from Pepper and Tony. They were never the type to fully open themselves easily to other people and she became that person. But now, all her walls are being broken down piece by piece. Ripped out without mercy. To see Rhodes break down like that… it finalized everything—all apathy was gone.

She repeated again but with a more severe voice, "We are going to find him."

Rhodes looked back at her, the tears still staining his face. He looked back with eyes darkened by a promise. He nodded rigidly, emanating the austere aura he always had, "Tony's not a soldier. He never was. But he will be treated as one. I promised you that, Darcy. When soldiers disappear, we never stop. We will keep going. We will find him. And we will bring him back home."

The girl nodded back, trembling hands reaching for the keyboard. As Rhodes continued to talk about his plan, Darcy caught a glimpse of her progress with making a new system. At the midst of their conversation, JARVIS started manipulating and modifying Tony's old files, updating them to fit Darcy's operating system. The codes reflected over her eyes, and she blinked with anticipation.

"Yes," she exhaled slowly, "We'll bring him back home."

Completion is reaching 100%

"And we are going to start..." Rhodey continued, his voice heavy.

"By sending NASA a computer virus."

"By sending you back to New York." They both nodded at themselves, seemingly resolute of their decisions.

"_What?!" _The two gasped at each other simultaneously as they realized each other's unyielding declarations. Darcy gazed at him with bright wide eyes, mouth ajar while Rhodes stuttered with dazed glassy eyes.

"Hack NASA?!" he barked, tilting his head in massive incredulousness.

"Send me back to _New York_?!" she countered, angry, "What the hell are you thinking?"

All tears were already dried up, as Rhodes pushed his head back in disbelief. "What the hell are _you _thinking, Darcy? When did you start talking like that?!"

"When you decided that it was okay to ship me back to New York when my father is still missing!" she hissed back, "Uncle Rhodey, I can help!"

"By hacking NASA?!" he bellowed, "It's a federal crime, Darcy! Moreover, you'll jyst put yourself in danger when they catch you—

"What makes you so sure that they'll catch me?" she narrowed her eyes, "You don't know what I'm capable of."

Rhodes shook his head, completely taken back by the wave of surprises. He was shocked. He never expected that. Moreover, he was more afraid of what Darcy had in her sleeves. It suddenly felt like he was still talking to Tony. To see Darcy talk carelessly about hacking about a highly protected government facility, it felt as if his best friend never left home.

Nothing can be heard but the incredulous huffs by Darcy. The man bowed his head, drowning in his thoughts. She shook her head violently, blinking her eyes to shake the tears that threatened to fall before. It made it clear that there were no more reasons to shed such tears. Not when everybody is thinking that she was just becoming a hindrance. Rhodey just deflected her words saying that sending her away would only protect her. but she does not need protection. She has spent all her life being shunned away for such petty means. No matter what, it seemed that she always gets sent back to New York. At first, Meredith did so to protect her from Tony. Then Tony put her in a boarding school to protect her identity. What does she need protecting from now?

"I'm not going back to New York," she declared, "At least, not yet. Not until he comes back home. Then you can ship me wherever you want." She looked to her side to see the progress bar of her system reaching completion. It's almost done.

"We still don't know why he's missing, Darce," he pursued. She rolled her eyes.

"Then I'll find out." She closed her eyes.

"No. You are not hacking anything or anyone."

Darcy gritted her teeth. In all one second, she stood up and smashed her palms against the glass desk. The screen shook as Rhodey's eyes quivered with worry and anxiety. She looked at him straight with her cobalt orbs—steady and serious. A faint beep echoed through her ears as she uttered her last words to their conversations. After that, Rhodey never heard of her for months.

"You can tell me what to do or what not do, Uncle Rhodey, but we are both pretty sure that I'm not going with your orders," she glared, "My father, your best friend, is out there in the damned desert for god knows why and we don't know if he's okay or not. We could spend all night arguing about me but that won't lead us anywhere. Now, we both have the same goals, and we both the same wishes. So I'm going to tell you this one thing and we can all go on our ways."

Rhodes clenched his fists. He did not like where this was going.

"I'll give you some peace and agree to go back to New York," she sighed as she placed her fingers over her keyboard, "Because judging by the tone of your voice, it seems that I'm acting as a hindrance."

He made an effort to speak up, but Darcy made her typing louder.

"Okay, I get it. I'm a hindrance. I have always been. All seventeen years of my life, I felt like that. Now, I'm not going to just cry and whine about it because I promised someone that I will no longer cry. I will leave Malibu and let you and Mom do your jobs. I'll go to school and finish high school and continue my life normally. In return, I want you, no—I _need_ you—to engrave this into your brain, sear it, brand it, I don't care."

She tapped 'Enter' and ceased typing. Rhodes remained quiet.

"In return, you will promise me," she breathed out, "that you will leave me alone. No matter what decision I take, and action I make, you will ignore it. I'll go back to New York, and you will no longer hear from me. You won't look for me. You won't worry. I'll be out your hairs, if your promise not to get in mine. If I'm a hindrance to you, then _please, _feel free to not be one to me."

_Ms. Darcy, your Automatic Synchronous Transmit Receiver & Information Digitizer is online. _

"Darcy? What are you talking about?" Rhodey asked. Before the call ended, he heard a woman's voice. It wasn't Darcy's. It wasn't Pepper's. It was completely unrecognizable. And then he saw a smirk, the smirk he thought that was long gone after Tony's abduction. That smirk, it felt as if he was looking and talking to billionaire himself.

"I'm going to find him, Uncle Rhodey," her last words were, "That's what I'm talking about." She clicked the call to end, and a black screen replaced her uncle's confused countenance. A thin blue line zoomed through the center of the screen as she pushed herself back to her chair.

She sighed in fatigue. She has a lot to do tonight. She has to go pack to go to New York and maybe go through with Pepper's imminent lecture. Rhodey will probably call the assistant right after her abrupt insolent conversation with him.

But everything will be fine. After long sleepless hours, she was finally done. She can finally go through with her plan. And he can finally go back home.

_Good evening, Ms. Darcy. _The blue line moved as the voice spoke.

She smirked. The voice almost had the same intonation as JARVIS but it was not entirely the same as the old AI. She was more sophisticated—with more class. She can surely get the job done.

"I have big plans for you. Big plans," Darcy greeted back at the screen, "ASTRID."

* * *

**I am very sorry again for giving a crappy chapter. I made this as a small introduction of the Iron Man portion of the story. Don't worry, the next chapter will be better. I promise. With loveeeee.**


	19. Everything and Nothing

** Everything and Nothing**

His heart was prey for destruction. It has always been. It's terribly disfigured, contorted into a paroxysm of terror and sorrow. From the moment he saw her mother's crying face as he closed the door of his dorm room, from the moment that his father's eyes looked at him with contempt, he knew that his heart was bound to be broken. And it did.

As years passed, each fiber, each muscle of that throbbing organ continued to decay, to petrify. It palpitated with growing faults and mistakes. It burned with every stroke of misfortune. It panicked with every death.

A part of him died when he received the news of his parent's death. Then another part of him followed Meredith to the grave. No one knew of the flaming toll that it took Tony Stark's heart. He didn't show it. He never showed it. Upon heartache and heartache was a graceful smirk, or a careless retort. A snap of his fingers come a shiny new car. At the wink of his eyes comes a beautiful girl. His heart has already been broken enough that all it did was pump bad ideas. All it did was pulse with alcohol. All it did was bleed pain.

And yet there was a cure to the disease of his battered, maddened heart. It was a cure he thought it never existed, never to be bought with money. The moment he held the cure in his hands, he knew that God is giving him another chance—another chance to rebuild that listless heart of his. It was another chance to redeem himself, to prove that a man like him can still love.

Darcy was the greatest thing that ever happened to him.

He loves that little girl, even more each second and each day. Her existence brought importance to his own. The sense of emptiness was gone, and the poisons of despair faded away upon every smile and laugh the little child radiated. And he vowed to protect that sun of hope with everything he got—just to be sure that little girl will continue to be happy. He'll continue to live as a faulty man, he'll continue to absorb all of the bad things in the world, so that her heart will never be broken like his.

And it lasted for seventeen years. He'd chuckle to himself every time he thinks about it. For seventeen freaking long years, Tony Stark was able to be a father. He was able to teach someone how to walk, how to talk, how to run, and how to integrate circuits. She grew up to be strong, intelligent, and lovable—and it was all because of him. It proved to him that his hands couldn't only create weapons and destruction—it can also create happiness.

For once, he was happy. At least on the inside. His exterior remained its arrogant, self-centered persona but inside he was happy. He didn't show it to anyone, to Pepper, to Rhodey, even to Darcy. Only he can see the happiness he was feeling. It may be a little selfish of him, hell he'd been selfish all his life, but he just wanted to keep that happiness all to himself. He'll contain it in that decrepit, worn out heart of his, keep it inside that defect of man he is, so that it'll never escape—so that content and happiness will never go away.  
But now, it's getting away.

Someone was opening him up. Someone was plunging a hole inside his chest, slowly ripping him apart. His tattered heart was beating rapidly, begging that they don't take it away, that they don't the happiness he took so long to contain. He could feel the air touch the crevices of his lungs, the ridges of his ribs, and it stung. Something was tugging his heart away. Something was clawing it out. It was horribly sharp. It was cruelly cold.

And he was feeling every second of it.

He screamed. He shook. He trembled. He cried. He screamed again. It was a torturous cycle, and it seemed like it was happening for thirty years instead of three hours. Blood poisoned his mouth as he sputtered curses and cries. Unfamiliar hands carelessly clutched his flailing hands to the table. Unrecognizable voices spoke many tongues. Their voices rang in his ear as he desperately tried to free himself to the hell he was chained in. Hands were clawing inside his chest, metal poking his every bone and muscle. He opened his eyes and saw a bright a white light. The light blinded him. It burned his skin. He shook his head violently. His body released jerks and spasms. His muscles tightened and his eyes closed. It wasn't the pain that he was afraid of. He was afraid of going into that white light.

"N-No!" he groaned loudly, but all that came out was a bloodcurdling scream. More of the voices returned to shutting him up. They wanted him to stay quiet. They wanted him to stay still but he didn't care about that. He cared more for the voice that was singing to him. It was a soft, mellifluous lullaby. It was luring him in, it was pulling him out of his trembling body. It was Meredith's voice.

_No. I'm not ready yet. _

She was inviting him. Enticing him to come with her.

_Meredith, please._

She kept telling him that it was all going to be all right. Everything will be okay and he will no longer feel the pain. But he doesn't want to go. At least not yet. There is more in his life, even with that dilapidated heart of his. He can still keep on living even if it still was half-beating. He'll do whatever he can so that it won't stop beating. He has already made it this far. So what's the point of dying?

His body convulsed again. The pain was resurfacing. His fingers trembled violently; his muscles became stiff and spastic. Something was on his chest, but he didn't know what it was. It was dauntingly heavy, as if someone has casted a ten-pound weight on him. It felt uncomfortable. It felt itchy. It felt _metallic. _

Then the white light disappeared. Like smoke, it just faded away. He could no longer hear Meredith. Instead he heard someone else. A faint cry. A desperate call. His head whipped to the side looking for that voice.

_Tony. _It was like a hush. A soft whisper. He wanted it to be louder. _Tony._ He knew that voice. He knew it very well. _Tony! _It wasn't Meredith's. No one was calling him to cross the other side. He was still alive. _Tony! _The voice grew louder. Fiercer. Shrilling. Trembling. _Tony! _He never heard that voice in that voice. It was always so calm, and serene. Not like this. As if the voice was crying. Begging. _Tony! _The pain was spreading again. It burned him. He gasped for air. He tried to scream but nothing came out. His lungs were suffocating. The pain was poisoning him, scratching his heart, gnawing his soul. He wanted the voice to help him. To help him. To touch him. Make him feel better. But it just kept calling him. _Tony!_

"Pepper…" he thought he called. But all came out was just a quaking scream. The weight in his chest felt heavier.

"He won't stop moving!" someone yelled, "Quick, get the rag!"

Something covered his nose and mouth. He didn't have a choice but to breathe. It was strangely sweet.

_Tony! _The voice called again. He aimed to reply but only heartrending screams were muffled by the rag. He gritted his teeth. He bit his tongue. He clenched his fists. His nails cut his own skin. His body shook again. The feeling rippled from his brain through the ends of his spine. It zoomed up and down his quivering vertebrae. Something was shocking him. Like electricity. But he didn't know what. All he knew that the pain was still there. Throbbing violently right in the center of his chest. A hole was cut open in between his ribs and he knew that his heart is vulnerable. His heart yearned for light but something was blocking it. Something was covering that battered heart of his. And he saw no more light. Just black. And the sound of metal clanking. And a shrill voice that reminded him that whatever hellhole he was thrown into, he promised he'll crawl back up.

_DAD!_

* * *

oOo

* * *

_Ms. Darcy, your set arrival to LaGuardia Airport, New York, is in one hour._

Darcy looked up from her laptop, and took a glance of the view on the airplane window. The night was vast, and blank. All the stars weren't in the sky, but down where the skyscrapers hailed their thrones with pride. "Yeah, okay, JARVIS, I'm almost done," she muttered at the disembodied voice as she looked down again on the screen of her laptop. The AI she created was still a little glitchy. It still hasn't reached the evolutionary social level that JARVIS possesses. But it can still do the job needed. In fact, she believed it'll produce more destruction than the old AI. The program was raw, vicious, and highly intelligent. With just one click, she can do more damage than anyone in the world. Well, that's what she believed.

"It's not like I'm doing this for the bad reasons, right JARVIS?" she muttered, "It's for Dad. It's for a good cause." Her eyebrows knitted together.

_Your father would've done the same thing, Ms. Darcy. Just as long as you will not get caught-_

"Always so comforting," she weakly chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't get caught. If anyone traces ASTRID, it'll bounce back to a secluded server of a internet cafe somewhere in Manila, which will spread into various IP addresses in Luxembourg and Venezuela, then masked servers to all federal agencies, just to annoy them, then the program will make its own codec system and become obscure .html files from thousands of pirated sites, locked with a Chinese-Cyrillic encrypted password, and if they get through that, it'll go back to that internet café and repeat the cycle. Let's see how many brains explode during this," she smirked.

_You are always so cunning, ma'am._

"Let's see if they even have the wits to recognize it first. When ASTRID hacks into their mainframe successfully, she would look nothing but a simple bug," Darcy sneered, typing maddeningly, "But that simple bug would just bypass all their firewalls, and access all coordination and navigation data, and within minutes, I'll have control of the satellite."

_I am assuming that we are no longer going for the Indian satellite, Ms. Darcy?_

"If you heard me earlier, JARVIS, you would know," she sighed.

_I do not eavesdrop on private conversations, ma'am._

"Right, keep telling yourself that."

_The National Aeronautics and Space Administration_ _would be an unimaginable feat, ma'am. _

"Then I better get an award after hacking them," she whispered, her fingers crossing over the keyboard, "No, I don't want an award. I just want my dad back." The final algorithm has been installed, and her software is ready to go. She leaned back to her seat, and let her tired blue eyes drifted up and down the screen for one last diagnostics. "Okay, we're going one by one with the satellites, ASTRID," her voice grated, "ASTRID, you up?"

Instead of JARVIS deep, baritone voice was a more feminine, soothing sound. Her English intonations were perfectly sophisticated, cultured, stern yet dulcet sounding. Her diction was smooth like velvet, yet austere and serious.

_Darcy._

"First-name basis, huh?" she feebly smiled, "I'll get used to that. Should I call you dearie now too? Honeybuns?"

_Astrid will suffice, Darcy._

"Oh! You scare me," she mused, "I like it. Great, honey-buns, let's get started. We only have half an hour of flight, so let's go."

_The Chandra X-ray Observatory would be the best first choice. The satellite obtains x-ray images of thousands of planets and galaxies. It would be wise to control this to locate any groups concealed in the massive mountains of Afghanistan. _

"All right," Darcy looked to her right, seeing the first glimpses of the city that never sleeps. She knew she shouldn't be in New York now, not in a time like this. People need her. Pepper needed her. Tony needed her. But of course, she'd only be a hindrance. Many people, she predicted, would come by the mansion to bombard Pepper with question. Even more so, Obadiah Stane would be there. She didn't know why but the man gave her the creeps. There was just something odd about him but she still doesn't know what. Maybe if she's done with all of this, she'll have ASTRID check on him. But for now, finding her father is top priority.

_It would also be wise to go into the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center's satellite based in San Diego. They handle all missions above the Middle East region. _

"Great, hack them too," Darcy snapped her gaze back to her screen. She took a deep breath. Her decision would be quite risky, but she trusted her new creation. _"_What are the satellites hovering above North America and the Middle East?"

_Countless, Darcy. The XMM-Newton module, the TDRS relay satellites, the gamma-ray burst Swift mission, the MIND mission, the SWO Response Department satellite, the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment radiation mission, and ten more. _

"Great," she swallowed.

_Which ones shall I put on the data list?_

Darcy fiddled her fingers, and deeply breathed. This was going to be a bad idea. But she has no choice. No choice at all. It's all for her dad.

"All of them. Hack all of them."

* * *

oOo

* * *

_Darcy!_

His eyes snapped open. He gasped loudly. He expected blanched ceilings, blinding lights, and that hospital anti-septic smell. But all he saw was the murky atmosphere of dry, suffocating red earth above him. Small, makeshift lanterns hung above him, poorly supplied by electricity. Groaning painfully, he pulled a disturbing tube that was blocking his airways. He pulled the tubes out his nose, and he smelled the staunch smell of metal, of dirt, and… gunpowder. It was strangely warm, and yet strangely cold. What kind of hellhole was he thrown into?

And he was thirsty. _Parched._

His fingers flexed, missing the absent glass of scotch that left his grasp. His head whipped to the side and he saw a metal cup. He hoped it was water. So he raised his right hand and pulled it over across his body to reach it, but the nerves connecting his brain and hands seemed to be malfunctioning. The container dropped with a loud clank.

As the sound resounded all over the room, he heard a faint grating sound. It was low, yet rough. It sounded like a man was shaving. His eyes found the source quickly and saw a tall, short man in front of a cracked mirror, cutting hid beard with a rusty knife. His dark eyes met his expressionless once. He aimed to sit up, but something was pulling him.

And that weight again. The weight on his chest.

It was heavy.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" the man mumbled. A tinge of anxiety began to cloud his mind. He was confused. He was scared. He was afraid to see the thing that was pulling him. But he looked anyway.

_A car battery?_

The battery sat on a cardboard box beside him. He began to notice the red cable attached to it. So he inched his body closer to it. The mattress under him was uncomfortably hard, as if it was made with wood chips and metal. It creaked loudly as he moved. He arched an eyebrow as he began to feel cable circling around his arm. His dark eyes silently trailed the cables. He frowned. _It couldn't be._

Then his eyes followed the other end. His heart throbbed with pain as he saw the wires grow closer near his chest. And his heart—it felt _weird. _

Aching fingers stroked the cables that neared his body. He realized that his custom-tailored suit no longer covered him. Instead, he was clad in torn dress pants, and a tattered undershirt. He felt the rough texture of bandages over his chest. He felt the dried blood. His lungs began to hyperventilate as his frenetic fingers clawed the bandages apart. He gasped, and stuttered for there was no longer skin that covered in between his ribs. It was something else. It did not move. It did not beat. It was cold. It was circular. It was rusting.

It was a hole.

Tony gasped loudly. A part of him could not believe the _thing _that was embedded in his chest. A part of him stared at it with sheer fascination. The _thing _felt heavy. Utterly unnatural. He immediately made a list of priorities in his mind.

First: Get the hell out of this hole.

Second: Get the shit away from his body.

His eyes shivered as he slowly moved his head down to witness the _thing_ on his chest. His sight became hazy and blurry. A sudden migraine shocked his brain and his heart palpitated quickly in a flux. The man before walked closer to him. He seemed to hold some kind of canned food. The man weakly smiled before him, and shook the can in front of him. Tony couldn't hold it any longer.

"What the hell?"

* * *

oOo

* * *

"What the hell?" she hissed loudly, rubbing her temples. Her body needed sleep. It was screaming for it. So as soon as the plane landed, she hailed a cab back to her home. Her bed welcomed her with open arms, and she immediately succumbed to it. For a moment, she forgot all her fears and worries and blissfully rested after being steadily awake for three days. Unfortunately, that moment only lasted for three hours—three hours until she had to jolt up, screaming for her missing father to come back.

Darcy rubbed her tired eyes hastily. Blue orbs drifted right at the clock. "3:17 freaking am," she sighed heavily, "its okay. I _love_ insomnia."

Falling back to her bed, she groggily reached for her phone. A faint beep opened the device, earning a small surprised noise from her throat. "Hm. Twenty-seven missed calls and sixty-two text messages. How nice." She wished she could laugh, but hell, she was too tired.

_Sent by: French brat: Allo? Darcy? I've called twenty times. I just heard the news. Please call me back. [Delivered Tuesday, 9:03:29 AM]_

"That's sweet, Jeanne," she muttered, blinking her eyes to adjust to the light of the phone. She scrolled down for more messages.

_Sent by: French brat: Alex called too. And he's angry. Please, Darcy. Call us. [Delivered Tuesday 11:06:54 AM]_

"Charming," she merely replied deadpanned. She scrolled down more with a placid look on her face. Every message started with the same sender. She sighed. Darcy didn't want any attention. She didn't want any comfort or help. She believed she didn't need. She believed she didn't _deserve _it. Everyone shouldn't be focusing on her. It should be Tony. He was the one who needed it the most.

Darcy found no reason to read the rest of the messages. It all came from the same people. It all contained the same message. She promised herself that she'll call Jeanne back. She'll call everyone back—when her father comes back.

Pushing herself off the bed (although she didn't want to but what was the use, she couldn't sleep) she began to make her way downstairs to the basement. She scratched her curly mane more into a tousled mess, while exasperatingly yawning. She got a whiff of her sweater, and damn, she needed a shower.

"JARVIS?" she called, making her down her spiral staircase, "Rise and shine, Jarvs."

_Progress updates, Ms. Darcy?_

"Not yet. Wait till I'm downstairs. Any missed calls?" she sighed, while stripping off her sweater and throwing it on the stairs. Whatever, she'll clean it up later.

_Fifty-three, Ms. Darcy. _

"Minus Jeanne's," she grumbled.

_Eight from Ms. Potts, inquiring if you have landed safely. _

"Tell her the plane crashed," she snapped back. The realization hit her hard, earning a stifled gasp from her throat. "I-I didn't mean that."

_ Your stress levels are reaching their peaks, Ms. Darcy. _

"I'm good. I'm good. Anything else?" she squeezed her eyes shut as she reached the basement. The floor was entirely covered by darkness. But she didn't want to turn the lights. It was too early.

_…And one more message, ma'am. A blocked number. Shall I triangulate it back?_

Darcy knowingly walked towards her computer chair, and lend back. Her lips pursed into a straight line, her blue eyes staring dully at the pitch black shadows of the room. "No. I know who it is. Play it, please."

_Of course… Message received at Tuesday, 10:45:12 PM. Sent to Ms. Darcy Lewis. Caller: unknown._

The message started with an awkward and that fact alone helped Darcy knew who it was. She rolled her eyes at the silence. Of course, _he _would call.

"I-uh—Hey D," the voice echoed through the room. Darcy closed her eyes while patiently swiveling her chair left and right. "It's me."

"Yeah, I know it's you, assbutt," she mumbled, rubbing her temples, "JARVIS, fast forward to the substantial part. I have no time for this." The AI complied, and started advancing the message. She swore that the first thirty seconds consisted of only his awkward mumblings. Then it stopped as he started properly talking.

"I saw what happened. It was on the news. Everyone's worried." He sighed, "I know you won't answer. Or ever call back. I know you."

"No, idiot, you don't know me," she grumbled, "You save me once now you think you know all about me? Moron."

The voice took a deep breath, "I also know that you won't stop until he comes back home. I just- you know I can come over, right? If you want to talk. But you won't probably talk. So, yeah, I just wanted to say that um, I hope you're okay... and don't forget to sleep. Okay. Uh, bye."

Darcy gritted her teeth. She was irritated. Angry. Why is everyone so worried about her? They shouldn't be. It was not her who was missing. "Yeah, whatever," she exhaled, while rotating her chair around. The frank darkness that plagued her room was somewhat comforting. To see nothing, and hear nothing was calming. She could make her own world, her own fantasy, and nobody could ever disturb her. But sadly, delving herself into the vast darkness would bring nothing to help. More importantly, she knew that once she succumbs to the shadows, she'll start having nightmares again.

After taking a long sigh, she clapped her hands together. If she couldn't sleep, she might as well, use the time to hack some satellites. "Rise and shine, beauties, we got work to do!" she called while tying all her tousled hair into one big bun. At the spark of her command, the fluorescent lights began to turn on above her one by one, illuminating the glorious stronghold of her workshop.

The whole room was plated with dark grey allow metals and granite. The floor and the ceiling were carbon tiles, indestructible and durable for any explosion and damage. Darcy modeled it after Tony Stark's back in Malibu, just longer and narrower to fit her carriage house dimensions. And instead of a collection of cars, Darcy placed her own inventions as trophies and hallmarks of her achievements. Large seventy-inch monitors covered the walls and on the center was her command center, her private servers and main computer. Tall panes of glass circled her- well everything on the round table was glass. Ever since it's discovery, Darcy created a distinct affinity with graphene. She found a way to perfectly synthesize the carbon-made innovation into bulk and create flexible electrode sensors. With it, she was able to manufacture solar-powered sensors, and highly electrically conductive sheets and incorporate into the Stark's holographic technology. The devices are stretchable and malleable, and completely durable. Darcy shrugged. It was only a prototype. Nothing big.

She clapped her hands again, and the computers powered on, turning on the holographic functions of her workshop. All in one second, screens began to float around her. "JARVIS, could you please present a digital wire frame of the Department of Defense's intel, and also the CIA's- the whole alphabet soup," she swiveled her chair closer to her keyboards, "and ASTRID? Did little Jarvs loop you in?"

_Welcome home, Darcy._

"Great," she rubbed her hands together, "I'll have to yet fully integrate you into the house's mainframe. I guess house-training you will take around, say, four hours?"

_Four hours and twenty-three minutes, to be precise._

"All right, then. I'll get started. JARVIS, how's it looking?" she mumbled, commencing to type.

_The Central Intelligence Agency is currently discussing that the potential of this case to being a terrorist act. The Department of Homeland Security are on high alert, as well as other agencies and bureaucracies. _

_ "_What the hell would terrorist need from my dad?" she sighed, her typing going increasingly faster, "Honestly, all he does is drink, frolic with women, and make weapons."

Darcy stopped. Her eyes opened wider. The realization hit her hard like an avalanche.

"Well goddamn, they need weapons," she sighed, "Dad, where are you?"

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Where are we?" Tony finally asked. He knew he was still in Afghanistan. He could still smell the dry desert around him. But he needed the exact location—coordinates—and maybe he could find or make some kind of make shift radio to send his whereabouts to the nearest army base frequency. The man in front of him did not reply. He simply smiled.

Apparently, he already met the old man once—in a conference in Bern—and he was too drunk to remember any of it. The man said his lecture was surprisingly successful, even heavily inebriated. Tony could feel himself smirk for a moment. He remembered his daughter's remark earlier, of him magically spewing out intelligent stuff unconscious.

The man also was apparently his savior. He gave him that rusting metal on his chest. Tony didn't know whether to thank him, or yell at him for doing such thing. All he knew was that without the guy, three shrapnel of metal would've entered his heart and ended his life. Most importantly, the man could be his ticket out of the place. He, too, was abducted like him—and they both were needed for something.

"Yinsen! Yinsen!" voices rang out, startling both of them. The metal doors of the rock enclave began to bang incessantly, and the man immediately got to his feet and started pulling him out of the bed.

"Come on, stand up, stand up!" he ordered under his breath, as the doors pushed open. Tony saw various men of various races entering the room, all with heavily armed. A big, stocky man, with his face covered with bushy, graying hair, looked back at him with cold, arrogant eyes. His eyebrows inched up haughtily, and his lips were pulled into a smirk. Tony could deduce that he was the leader.

The old man immediately pushed himself down to his knees. He urged Tony to do the same. "Just do as I do," he whispered but Tony remained standing. He looked at the leader with blank eyes. Tony Stark does not kneel for anybody.

"Come on, put your hands up!" he urged again but the genius ignored. He looked more skeptically at the men in front of him. All of the weapons they were carrying—he knew them. And he knew them because he made them.

"Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?" he muttered but the old man didn't answer and just forced him down. His mind was thoroughly in shambles. He was utterly confused and angry. Why do they have his weapons? They are not supposed to have them.

The leader began talking. Tony repressed himself from glaring.

"He says, 'Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America,'" the old man translated, "He is honored."

Tony swallowed. It hurt him deeply to be labeled with such a malicious name. it hurt him more when he realized the name actually suited his line of work. The cold hard truth hit him with great force. The leader looked at him with a prideful glint in his eyes. He wanted to shake it away but the realization was still there. It was true. He was a murderer.

The man started talking again.

"He wants you to build the missile," the old man muttered. Tony replied with an incredulous look. _What missile?_

"The one that you demonstrated…" he elaborated, "The Jericho Missile."

* * *

oOo

* * *

"The Jericho Missile!" Darcy yelled at her screens, "That should be it, right? It should!" After she figured the true reason behind her father's abduction, she had the overwhelming urge to get the phone and immediately call Pepper or Rhodey. She wanted to yell at them, figured that the piece of information would be helpful. But she soon realized that it wouldn't be much of help. Agencies have already figured that it was a terrorist group that kidnapped the famous manufacturer. To specify which kind of weapon they wanted wouldn't be much intel for someone's location. More importantly, she promised Rhodey that she wouldn't get involved. Well, at least not let him know that she was getting involved.

Therefore, Darcy Lewis-Stark decided that she'll take this valuable piece of information to herself. It wouldn't do much good if she started spreading her own intel around. It would help more if she investigated this information by herself. For the past of couple of days, it was kind of hard to trust anyone.

"ASTRID, how are you doing with the satellites?" she swiveled her chair to view one screen. Four blue windows were opened, all showing various codes and algorithms. It pleased her to see "Access Granted" at every window.

_Chandra X-Ray status: [Access Granted] Firewall breached. Encrypting security codes._

_ Space and Naval Warfare System status: [Access Granted] Firewall breached. Bypassing servers…_

_ XMM-Newton Module status: [Access Granted] Firewall breached. Defense algorithm bypassed. Encrypting security codes…_

_ TDRS Relay Satellite status: [Access Granted] Firewall breached. Security codes encrypted. Internal Program Language encrypted. Defense algorithm bypassed. _

_ Four out of twelve satellites are ready for your discretion, Darcy. All systems encrypted and transferred to the private servers. All control mainframe locked and installed. [Estimated time of completion]: 53 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds._

"Fantastic," Darcy remarked, smirking, "JARVIS, I think someone just bested you. How do you feel about that?"

_Your AP Physics term paper status: formulating…_

_ Your Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition literary criticism paper: editing…_

_ Your thesis on the Efficiency of Organic Solar Cells status: [Complete]_

_ Thesis on the Rise of the Agenda Prominence of Ethanol in the United States status: [Complete]_

_Thesis on your Analysis of the Diplomatic Strategies for Dealing with Nuclear Non-Compliance status: [Complete]_

_ Thesis on your Comparative Diplomatic Strategies for the Promotion of the Norm of Nuclear Disarmament status: [Complete]_

_ Thesis on Strengthening the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Armament through the Conglomerate Control status: [Complete]_

_Research on the Effects of UV/Ozone on a Graphene Polymer Film: editing…_

_Thesis on—_

"All right, all right, I get it, JARVIS, you're doing all my schoolwork for me," she shook her head, "It's not my fault I want to get my masters' degrees early."

Darcy blinked her eyes softly and chuckled lightly. She got all her theses ideas from Tony, actually. Not directly, but he was her main inspiration. "Having a father in the core of the bureaucratic weapons diplomacy is not too bad when you're seeking a degree in political science, right Jarvs?"

_ As the United States' main weapons contractor bear many fruits, Ms. Darcy. You have used it well to your advantage. _

She frowned. "It does too with terrorists, apparently," she sighed, "I could write a thousand thesesdescribing how he could potentially rule all weapons manufacturing companies, combine them into one big thing, and I don't know, maybe reach _world peace._ But at the same, all his weapons could fall into the wrong hands and potentially make another _world war._"

_This conundrum may very well be your next thesis topic, perhaps. _

"Yes!" Darcy stared blankly at the air, "_One Man of War and Peace. _Add that on the list, JARVIS. Maybe you know, I could be getting my doctorate with this thesis." She ordered, and then faced her right, "And ASTRID? Would you be so kindly to obtain all recent shipping manifests of all Stark exports and the list of all the weapons? Discreetly."

_Gathering data through the Stark Industries mainframe through the private servers. Estimated time: three hours and 57 minutes._

"All right. While you do that, and hack the satellites, I'm going to monitor the four modules you just bypassed," Darcy grumbled as she starting hovering her fingers over her keyboard. She accessed the control codes of the satellites hacked and began changing the course coordinates. The paths of each satellite were gradually altered to push it over the Middle East's atmosphere. The process took long five hours as she had to do it meticulously. Every wrong move would alert a bug and cause the people back at NASA to find about their hacked satellites. Also, with her in the steering wheel of at least twelve satellites was tedious work. She had eyes from the space, infrared, x-ray, and gamma ray. Her eyelids threatened to fall down, but her mindset overpowered her fatigue. She was finally getting somewhere, and she would not sleep until she has scourged every single corner of Afghanistan for her father.

She wondered what he could be doing right now. She tried to stay away from the morbid thoughts that he could be hurt, or tortured. She knew whoever they were wanted weapons. But why would they need Tony Stark for it? The thought of him being part of a ransom made her shiver. Tony Stark is valuable. Everything about him is a treasure. His name. His brains. His everything. People might put a price in his head, but Darcy knows that he is priceless. No matter how faulty the man is, no one can ever stop her from loving that man.

So if anyone decided to put at least one scratch on his skin, all hell would break loose. She'd do _anything_ to protect her father. He was there for her for seventeen years. She'll gladly return it tenfold. This thing could go on for months and months. But Darcy will never stop looking for Tony Stark.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"I'm sure they're looking for you, Stark," the old man began to talk. Tony looked at the fire with expressionless eyes. He was sore. He was tired. And he couldn't get rid of the taste of metal in his system. And he has seen it all. He has seen everything that he has been proud of all his life—his precious creations—in the hands of evil. It was a whole arsenal, a whole mountain of his weapons, just stored, contaminated by abominable men with malicious intents.

All his life, even his father, he believed that the things he fabricated and innovated with his own hands would bring some good to the world. As a child, he believed that all his invention would benefit his country just like Howard did. He wanted to continue his legacy—to help the soldiers abroad and keep the nation out of war. Hell, he brought up Darcy with the same belief, that her father was some kind of makeshift hero that brought the evil ones to rest. But what is he supposed to do when all of his pride has fallen into the wrong hands. Blood has been shed—innocent ones—and it's all because of him. A massacre has been committed, and his name is drawn with the all the blood and deaths.

He wanted to hold the pains in his heart. He wanted to alleviate it a little, bring some comfort as his heart became more maddeningly battered and tattered. But he couldn't. Not when a piece of battery was blocking him.

How was he supposed to face everyone now when he comes back? _If _he comes back. How will he face Pepper, when she assisted this whole _crime? _How will he look at his daughter, when her daddy is an accomplice to this damned violence? How can he face the graves of his parents, where everything that they have built gone and spilled with innocent blood? How is he supposed to trust anyone now?

"But they will never find you in these mountains," the man added with an austere voice. Tony shook his head. He doesn't have to face them. He was going to die anyway.

Right. If he was to die, what would happen? Would these people use the weapons to attack more villages, or even target other countries? If he dies, what would happen to the company? What would happen to Darcy? He sighed.

If he was to die, he wished for Darcy to continue her normal life. Pepper would be smart enough to keep continue the secret. His death would just bring more damage to the Stark name if she inherits it. Yes. Darcy should just normal. She doesn't have to inherit the company. She can have a normal life without him. An _easier_ one without him. She won't have to be associated with all the evils that he had done. She'll go to college. Have a degree in Political Science like she wanted. Find a great, and normal guy, and get married. Darcy will be happy. Yes. Darcy will be better off without him. Darcy will be better off as Darcy Lewis.

A snap of fingers broke him from his thoughts. The old man was talking to him again. The man frowned, "Look, what you saw," he started, "that is your legacy, Stark."

Tony only stared at the hearth in front of him.

"Your life's work, in the hands of those murderers," he continued to say. The fire flickered with silence. His heart has already decided. No one can convince him.

"Is that how you want to go out?" he added, "Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark?"

No. There is no more defiance. Only death.

"Or are you going to do something about it?" the man scowled.

"Why should I?" Tony retorted placidly. If he does anything, it would only hurt more people. "They're going to kill me, you, either way."

Yeah. He's going to die anyway. What's the use of anything? All he was at the moment was a powerless man. A useless man with a defective heart. He can't do anything else but continue to breathe the same air as these murderers. He wanted to laugh at himself. The pride that used to fill him to the brim was fading away by the second. He never thought he could feel this weak again—like how he felt seventeen years where he was all alone in his mansion. He was all alone again and he will die like that. There was no Meredith to pull him up or Darcy to cheer him up. He was just a pile of skin and bones, dearth of life and energy.

If only something would power his decrepit body. If only something can just bring him back to his feet and put some life into him. Maybe he'll feel stronger. There has to be some kind of pill for that, right? Some remedy to this crisis. Some solution to the problem.

"Well, then," the man spoke again, "this is a very important week for you, isn't it?"

Yes.

It is.

Of course.

As he stared at the burning embers of the hearth, as he observed the coal inhale oxygen and exhale energy, he realized everything. Like the coal burning its embers, he still has the chance. He can stand up again and breathe. Emit energy. Radiate light. Increase power.

And all he needed was palladium.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Palladium, Ms. Lewis," she heard a faint voice but she shrugged it off. No one should disturb her nap. Precious, precious nap. "Ms. Lewis, can you tell us what Palladium is?" Darcy heard it but she didn't reply. "DARCY LEWIS!" the voice yelled.

Darcy immediately sat up with blue eyes ajar, gasping in shock. Her instinct flared up within seconds and answered the question almost robotically. "Palladium! Palladium is a chemical element, chemical symbol Pd, atomic number 46 amu, atomic weight 106.42 grams, electronic configuration Kryptonite 4d-ten, 2, 8, 18, 18. Part of the platinum group metals or the platinoids. Solid phase with a density of 12.023 grams per cubic centimeters. Once melted at one thousand eight-hundred and twenty-eight point zero five Kelvin or one thousand five-hundred fifty-four point nine Celsius, liquid density will become 10.38 grams per cubic centimeter. Boiling point is three thousand two-hundred and thirty-six Kelvin or two thousand nine-hundred and sixty-three Celsius with a heat of fusion of 16.74 kilojoules per mole and a heat of vaporization with 362 kilojoules per mole. It's silvery white characteristics was discovered by William Hyde Wollaston in 1803 and now it is currently used for catalytic converters, electronics, dentistry, medicine and purification of hydrogen. Crystal structure is face-centered cubic with a paramagnetic ordering and electronegativity of 2.20 and holy balls, I'm rambling again."

She ended panting and gasping for air. She quickly realized that she was no longer at home, but in school. And judging by her surroundings she figured that she should be in her sixth period class. When did that happen?

The teacher in the front looked at her bewildered, the students utterly stunned. Darcy swallowed and blinked. She ran her fingers through her hair and tried to play it cool.

"Uh, yes. Palladium is a chemical element commonly used in electronics," the teacher coughed, "Thank you, Ms. Lewis."

Darcy returned a sheepish smile. She shouldn't have sat on the back. She could see everyone staring at her in disbelief. She raised her eyebrows at them, not liking the attention.

"Yeah, guys. I know I'm beautiful but please turn around and pay attention," she remarked, setting her head down again on her arms to sleep. She was finally getting some sleep and nightmares seemed to not haunt her when she's in school. She sighed. Just five more minutes.

"Ew, what an overachiever," she heard suddenly. Her ears twitched at the sound. That shrilling voice that oozed arrogance—it's been awhile since she had heard that voice. Oh how she did _not _ miss high school cliques.

"I know babe. What a total nerd," a deeper voice croaked. Darcy rolled her eyes. Usually she'd have enough willpower to just ignore the jerks. But she was severely fatigued, sleep-deprived, confused, and angry. Annoying her would probably be the worst thing to do at the moment.

"Can I help you, Johnson?" Darcy propped her elbow on to her desk and rested her cheek on her hand. She glared at him with storming blue eyes.

The brusque jock gasped, mockingly surprised. "Oooh, Greasy Darcy is feisty today. Did somebody steal your calculator?" He guffawed with his giggling girlfriend.

Darcy's eyes narrowed with a scowl. The guy was ignorant. She doesn't have a calculator. She doesn't need one. She never will.

"What are you doing here, _Chuck_?" she narrowed her eyes, "This is _Engineering 101._ Like physics and mechanics, you know? Why is a steroid-brain like you in this class? Did you fail your last elective again?"

The guy's lips curled, and looked reluctantly at his girlfriend. He forgot how sharp the girl was. He took a small pause then scoffed, "What are you talking about? No!"

Darcy raised her eyebrows. It was the girlfriend's turn to retort. "Chuck's guidance counselor encouraged him to explore more electives and create a plan B just in case he doesn't go into sports," she hissed.

"Mr. Jefferson said this is the Plan D," she heard the guy whisper to his girlfriend. Darcy scoffed out loud, earning everyone's attention in the class.

"More like Plan D for dumbass," she jeered. The whole class gasped amusingly at her daring remark. Darcy Lewis is fighting back against the two most popular people in the school. But Darcy Lewis never fights back. Darcy Lewis has always been the quiet one. She didn't barge into people lives, as people never encroached into hers. She has been known for ignoring the couple and their arrogant comments and staying in the engineering room by herself. For all the four years that they've been with the girl, this is the first time they see her actually talk.

"What's your problem, Grease?" the girlfriend spat back.

"Why are you still talking to me, Sissy?" Darcy sighed, "I thought we're done here. Let me have my nap."

"My name is Sierra, stupid!"

"Says the one who got a 42 in her Trigonometry test," Darcy breathed out, putting her head once again. The class was enjoying this. Sierra's eyes opened wide and blushed. "Who told you that!?"

"I graded your test, woman," Darcy merely replied, "Your teacher asked me to so his eyes doesn't have to bleed looking at your mistakes."

"You!" Sierra shrieked, standing up , sparking a riotous reaction from the class. All of them are chanting for the two girls to fight. Sierra made her towards the back where Darcy sat, but Darcy remained unfazed.

"…are going to cry to your daddy again?" Darcy finished her sentence. Sierra growled and prepared herself to pounce at the girl, but her boyfriend grabbed her in the arms.

"No! Let me go Chuck!" Let me have at the nerd!" she screeched again. Darcy remained sitting on her seat.

"Leave me alone, Sierra," Darcy exhaled. All the yelling was giving her another headache. She has been up all night monitoring the satellites. "And stop yelling, you're making my ears bleed."

"Ms. Lewis, Ms. Jones, enough!" Darcy heard her teacher bellow. The girl kept on screaming.

"At least I have a Dad, you freak!"Sierra screamed, "At least I have a father that is always there for me when I call! But you don't because nobody loves you, you good for nothing loser!"

Darcy raised her head and finally looked at the screeching girl. The whole class grew quiet, even the teacher who was trying to stop the yelling. Chuck took a small step back, and swallowed. Sierra stop yelling, and raised her eyebrows. It was the first time she saw Darcy glare. It was the first she saw such anger.

"What are you implying, _Jones_?" Darcy enunciated slowly, emphasizing every word with a hiss. Sierra stopped breathing for a second, abashed by her sudden change in tone. Then she pulled her scowl into a smirk. Finally, she was getting a reaction from the stoic Darcy Lewis.

"I'm saying that nobody loves you. Nobody," the girl's grew wide with power, "Even your parents. That's why you're so alone. Yeah. I heard it from the teachers. You're an 'independent.'"

Darcy's eyes grew wider. She applied to the school as an emancipated minor. She urged it during her discussion with Pepper and Tony. The two adults never liked the idea but they agreed anyway to use it as a cover. As much as they didn't like it, the two knew they couldn't be with Darcy one hundred percent of the time. And to be so far away as New York, using the title as an independent was the only way for her to be alone. But nobody knew that she was one except the staff.

"You're probably the kid that no one ever wants," Sierra added with cackle, "that's why you wear such shitty clothes."

Darcy looked down to view her sweater. She recalled Pepper giving it to her last month for the winter. It was a simple turtle neck.

"This is a _Valentino_," she asserted. Darcy was surprised but she didn't show it. She just sounded like Jeanne for a moment, "And don't talk about my mother like you know her, asshole." The class gasped again. Everyone was stunned. What the hell was happening?

Sierra laughed. "So what if it's designer, _bitch_? You're mother probably bought it in Goodwill with the money she whored up. And your father. I heard your dad abandoned you. I heard that he was a homeless drunkard that slept with your mother one night and you're the child. And then your mom was so disgusted by you so she sent you away. That's why you're such a nerd so that you can make up for the freak show of a life you hav-

"SHUT UP!" Darcy screamed, standing up. Her voice was so shrill and loud that even the classes next to hers heard it. She ignored the pain as she slammed her hands on her desk. Every one winced. Darcy finally had it. She couldn't take it anymore. She has to tell it. It was about time everyone should know.

"Do what you want!" Darcy closed her eyes, then opened them with a glare, "Do what you with me. Call me a nerd, call me a freak. Throw food at me like you all did back at freshman year. Cover my homework in the motor oil like in 10th grade. Egg my house like last year. Torment me. Make me cry. Do everything you want. But _never._ I tell , ever insult my family."

Everyone listened to her silently. No one dared to stop her. Some looked down as if they had a share as Darcy's tormentors. Some looked at her with somber sympathy.

"M-my mother," Darcy continued, stuttering but with a stronger voice, "She's not even my _real _mom, but you know what? She became more than that. She _did_ more than that. She took me in. She accepted me. She loved me like her own daughter. She worked so hard to care for me. She worked day and night to make sure I'm safe. She wouldn't sleep for hours, even days. She sacrificed so much… even the chance to have her own family."

Darcy took a deep breath. It was true. Pepper could have had her own family. She could have brought her into adoption or just dropped her off on Tony's porch. She could have just stayed as a mere assistant and lived her own life. But no, she decided to stay. She took Darcy. She accepted her. She accepted Tony. She took what fate gave her, and nurtured it, treasured it, loved it. Pepper Potts made her own version of family and stuck with it.

"And my dad, my father," she added, "He may be a drunk but he's a smart drunk, okay?" She could feel the tears clouding her vision as she recalled the times she saw Tony drink. She recalled the good times. "He's trying, you know? He's trying so hard so that I can have a better future. He thinks life is crap but he's making it better for me. He didn't even want to send me here. He wanted me homeschooled!"

"And he didn't abandoned me," she wiped her eyes, "He's just _missing._"

Sierra blinked. She didn't know what to say.

"And I will find him. I tell you, and all of you," Darcy proclaimed, switching her gaze throughout the class, "You can shit on my life as much as you want to feed your low standards of happiness. But never talk about me and my parents like you know us. You don't know me. You don't know about my life. And you never will."

This didn't need to happen. She didn't need more of the crap. She went to school, for god's sakes, so that she can take a small break. Because she knew that at home, she would glue her eyes again at the monitors. But misfortune followed her again and now she's standing there with all eyes on her, as she ranted about her feelings. Everybody just stared at her as she panted her last statement. Chuck took her girlfriend out the class and the teacher went to go to get the principal. Darcy figured that more trouble would ensue once they call Pepper about this incident. She sighed again. Then she gritted her teeth as she reached for her bag on the floor and headed for the door. Her nap was done. Her break was finished.

She doesn't need any of this.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Okay, we don't need this," Tony muttered as he threw the piece of metal over his shoulders. The old man just watched him dismantle all the weapons, all _his _weapons, to get just another small piece of metal. He was glad that the genius decided to change his mind and started working. With just a snap of fingers, Tony stood up with a plan. He didn't talk. He didn't think. He just worked. And the old man stayed. He followed him around and translated for him to get all the materials he needed. Besides the sheer fascination of being in the same room as the genius billionaire, he felt a small sense of comfort from the guy. He didn't know what it was but something changed his mind. He didn't expect from an industrialist like him but he knew. He knew that Tony Stark wasn't just fighting for his life. He knew that Tony Stark is fighting for someone else.

"What is that?" the old man asked as Tony plucked a strip of metal from one his missiles. Tony didn't look at him and merely replied, "That's palladium, 0.15 grams."

Tony noticed the old man look at him with an eager, curious face. He smirked inwardly. The way the man's eyes looked at the palladium with anticipating eyes reminded him of Darcy.

"We need at least 1.6, so why don't you go break down the other 11?" he muttered. The old man moved right away, and quickly broke down the rest of the missiles. Then he looked around. Where's the red dirt?

Once they have melted off the palladium and smelted it into a thin circle, Tony realized that he has done it again. He realized that his legacy didn't have to be just weapons. It didn't have to be destruction. It didn't have to be war.

As he stared at the glowing device, he built from a box of scraps, he determined his real purpose. The arc reactor didn't have to be something to calm the hippies down. It didn't have to just power a factory. It could power him. It could make him better. It could make that maddened, tattered heart of his useful again. It could be energy. It could be life.

"What do I call you?" Tony asked as he observed his latest creation on the table. The old man looked up to him, surprised. He realized that for the week that they've been together, it was the first time Tony asked for his name. "My name is Yinsen," he smiled. He figured introductions are never late.

Tony flatly smiled. "Yinsen," he nodded, "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," he chuckled. He shook his head then noticed the blue-glowing device on the table, "That doesn't look like a Jericho missile."

"That's because it's a miniaturized arc reactor," Tony mused, "I got a big one powering my factory at home. It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart."

"But what could it generate?" Yinsen asked, curious.

Tony lightly scoffed. "If my math is right and it always is… thee gigajoules per second."

Yinsen's eye grew wide. "That could run your heart for 50 lifetimes." For this past days, he knew that he was spending time with the great Tony Stark. The man who has one single strand of hair insured for a million dollars. The womanizer. The billionaire. But he never really realized the genius that was sitting beside him. It was only up until now that he truly saw the man that created the brains of Stark Industries. It was only up till now that he realized how amazing Tony was.

The genius merely shrugged in return and set the arc reactor on the desk. His reactor had another purpose and he planned to follow it through to the very end.

"Or something big for 15 minutes."

* * *

oOo

* * *

"15 minutes. Give me 15 minutes," Darcy groaned, "Okay, how about 10? 5? Mom, let me explain!" She yelled as she inched her shoulder up more to keep the phone in her ear. Right after the fiasco in school, the principal immediately notified Pepper of the situation. It was not long after Darcy got home when the phones started buzzing.

"There is nothing to explain, Darcy!" Pepper yelled through the phone, "You disrupted class and insulted a schoolmate!"

Darcy rolled her eyes. "She started it first!" she snapped back, "She and her dick of a boyfriend started everything! What did I even do?! I just told them to fuck off!"

"Darcy Lewis-Stark!" her mother gasped, "How could you say that?!"

"Okay, fine. I didn't tell them to fuck off," she clicked her tongue. "But she made fun of me! She made of you! You and Dad!"

A silent pause filled the conversation. Darcy took the time to continue on her satellites and monitoring the movement in Afghanistan. Then she stopped when she heard a small, exasperated sigh.

"Darce…" her mother murmured softly, "You're a good child, in fact, you're the best one out there. But you know—

"I know, I know," she interjected, "I'll go to school tomorrow and apologize."

"No, not that. But you should anyway," Pepper weakly chuckled, "I'm saying that you're a good kid. But you're not perfect. Clearly there's something wrong and we should talk about this."

Blue eyes narrowed as her face contorted into anger. "Of course, there's something wrong, Mom! Dad's missing!"

A part of her expected Pepper to somehow tear up and cry. But all she heard was a calm whisper. "And we're doing everything we can, Darce. We are. Your Uncle Rhodey called and you know he's already back on his feet looking for him. Everyone is looking for him. We all share the same pain and I want you to know that you don't have to do this all alone."

The girl sighed as she closed her eyes. "I-I know. I'm sorry," she whispered, "Well, I'm okay now, I guess."

"Are you sure, honey? My meeting with Board ends in 2 hours. Do you want me to come and—

"No, no, Mom. It's okay. I'm okay," she blurted out. If Pepper comes here and found out that she's been investigating Tony's disappearance for five days now and hacked more than ten satellites to find him then it would be the end of her life. "Really. I'm fine. H-how about you? Are you okay?"

Pepper laughed weakly. If only she could laugh wholeheartedly. "Yeah, I'm good, Darcy."

The two shared a moment of silence—the type that a mother and daughter would only share. They could be together right now, embracing the pain away. But they both have responsibilities and duties and they have to stick to it. Tony may be missing, but it didn't mean that they shouldn't working.

"Hey, Mom?" Darcy began, voice trembling with hesitation.

"Yeah, honey, what is it?" Pepper replied, worried.

"Do you think…" she gulped, "Do you think he'll be back—

"Of course, he'll be back, Darce, you know that."

"I know, I know but I mean will he be back for my—

_Access Denied. Access Denied. Security Breach Imminent. Data Triangulation Reversed. _

ASTRID's voice began to boom throughout the room. Her eloquent, British accent rang like an alarm, knocking Darcy off her chair. The girl mouthed a small curse and immediately got back on her seat to see what was happening. The screens around her blinked red and white as the letters of the AI's message flashed repeatedly. Her jaw slacked open as she read the messages appearing on her screens. The text was appearing fast and she knew exactly what was happening.

"Shit!" Darcy hissed, pulling herself closer to her desk, "How did this happen?!"

_It seems that the M.I.N.D. satellite contained a firewall that automatically traces any foreign bugs into their original servers._

"Damn it. What kind of satellite is this?!" she groaned, typing faster, "It's bouncing to all the obscure servers in Manila and Venezuela." Her mind needed to process all the things at once. She never had this kind of problem before. No one should be able to find her virus. Each algorithm and code of that virus was meticulously designed by her and she designed it to be foolproof. And even if someone found her bug, they shouldn't know that it's a virus much less trace it back. The only one who would be able to throw her off guard like that was someone much smarter than her or someone with more technology than her small private workshop in her small apartment. But it shouldn't be Tony. Tony was somewhere else. Someone else was challenging her. Darcy could feel herself smirk. Whoever this is, she'll find out who and crush that bastard.

"Darcy? Darcy, honey? Hello?" she heard a faint voice. For a second, she wondered where the voice was coming but then the instant realization hit her. She forgot that she was still talking to Pepper. Frantic, she stood up, her fingers still glued to her keyboard, and tried to find her phone. She then felt a soft nudge on her arm. It was DUMMY, holding the phone with his claw. Darcy smiled at the robot, and leaned her ear towards the phone.

"Hey, Mom, sorry, I dropped the phone," she laughed nervously, eyes staring into the screens, frenetically typing.

"Who was that? I heard a woman's voice," she asked anxiously. Darcy mouthed, "Crap" and just laughed, "Uh, you heard that, huh? Wow, congratulations. You have good hearing."

"Darcy," Pepper rolled her eyes. She was skeptical now, "What are you doing?"

Blue eyes drifted left and right, up and down, looking for an excuse. She couldn't really say, "Hey, Mom. I made another artificial intelligence named ASTRID and I hacked ten federal-governed satellites and now I'm getting hacked by one and might possible go to jail once I turn 18."

"Uh, I… am…. Watching a movie!" she snapped her fingers, nodding, "Yeah, I'm watching _I, Robot_, you know Will Smith, 2004?"

"Uh…huh."

"Totally inaccurate by the way," she blurted out, "They think that humans are so stupid that they would have to wait 35 years to create robots. I mean look at Dad, he made JARVIS when he was 20. And their central intelligence didn't even have any emotions to fully understand the moral justifications of humanity. I mean look at DUMMY, he's so cute. And it just took me three days to create AS—I mean—a lot of robots. "

"Babe, you're rambling again," Pepper sighed, "You ramble when you're tired."

"Yea, of course, I'm tired. You know school… and stuff," Darcy mumbled quickly, "So I guess I should go to sleep, right? Yea, I should, I still have school tomorrow. Okay? You should go to work or something or go rest. Yeah, you should rest. I'll go to sleep. Okay, mom? I love you, sweet dreams, merry Christmas, bye."

Pepper didn't get the chance to say goodbye when Darcy hung up. She exhaled loudly, while looking outside the car window. She was on her way to a board meeting, when she received the call from Darcy's school. It set a precedent. She was sure because Darcy was always the quiet one who reservedly work by herself in the corner. She was just like Tony. He'll only talk when he needs to, otherwise he'll be in his workshop doing whatever he wants. But to actually hear that her daughter stood up to yell at a classmate was surprising. Darcy is never angry to anything or to anyone. Whoever insulted her must have insulted her really badly.

"Is everything all right?" she looked up to see Happy's worried eyes staring at her from the rearview mirror, "Darcy ok?"

Grey-blue eyes smiled feebly at the man, "She's okay, Happy. Just tired."

"We all are," he breathed out, switching his gaze back to drive. Her smile flattened as she viewed Malibu's lights passed by her. Amber lights glowed over her, flickering as they drove. She began to see a reflection of a woman. Her hair was neatly tied back into an elegant ponytail. She wore a simple black suit and a small smile. But the woman didn't look happy. There were bags under her eyes and her eyebrows are knitted tightly together. The woman has been crying. Pepper tried to tell the woman to stop crying. She wanted to tell her that everything will be fine. But the woman refused to believe. The woman felt useless. The woman felt powerless. She wasn't a genius. She couldn't invent. She was just a normal assistant. What can she do? What was her purpose in this story? What was her role?

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Good roll, good roll," Yinsen commented as they played backgammon together. Tony just showed him the blueprints—their plan to escape. He recalled him calling it 'Mark I' and modestly saying that it was just a prototype. He shook his head at the thought. The man was able to build a self-sustaining energy reactor in a span of two days. That fact alone shocked him. But to devise a whole new plan using a few pieces of wax paper, and scraps of metal—it was a whole new thing. Tony showed him the materials needed, the process, and the final product and it was all built on top of his head. Tony Stark was absolutely, incredibly, unbelievably amazing.

"You still haven't told me where you're from." Tony muttered, rolling the dice. Yinsen looked up with a flat smile. This man amused him. Just looking at him by the exterior, Tony looks a normal, self-centered rich man. The air of arrogance and pride breathes out through the pores of skin, albeit he was completely covered in sweat and dirt. But there was something about him that tells him that there's another story to that chapter. This man is not all about himself. This man, in front of him, is thinking not just for himself. This man can care.

"I'm from a small town called Gulmira," he grinned, "It's actually a nice place."

Tony looked at him somberly. This old man doesn't deserve to be in this hellhole. "Got a family?"

"Yes," Yinsen smiled, "And I will see them when I leave here."

He definitely doesn't belong here. Tony wanted to blame the terrorists—this group called the Ten Rings for doing such evil. He wanted to curse them and make them pay. But he realized they are not the ones completely at fault. He is. This wouldn't have happened if he could only see. For all these years, he was blind. He blindly trusted the government that his weapons would only be used by the United States. He blindly trusted his company for distributing them. He knew that someone is working right under his nose. If only he watched over his the Industry more carefully, nothing like this would've happened.

"And you, Stark?" Yinsen asked.

"And me what?"

"Do you have a family?" Tony stared at him.

Yes.

Yes, he does.

He has Darcy. He wanted to tell him about his little girl. Seventeen years old. In high school. He wanted to tell him that she was just as smart as him, funny too. He wanted to brag and say how she created her first robot at 5 years old, about how she was the smartest in her school. He wanted to tell him how she has her mother's face, and yet how she smirks like him. How she plays the piano, how she protects her friends, how she laughs. He wanted to tell Yinsen yes.

But he couldn't.

"No." he said blankly.

"No?" Yinsen raised his eyebrows. Tony shook his head. Maybe he'll tell him someday. Make him meet Darcy one day. But not now. Not in a time like this. Not when there's at least ten cameras watching him—terrorists watching his every move, probably listening to his every word. He needed to be alone in all of this. He can't involve Darcy. He can't involve that one last thing that still hasn't fallen into pieces. This was his own problem and his own problem to fix.

Yinsen chuckled. "So you," he started, taking the dice from him, "You're the man who has everything. And nothing."

Yes. Let everyone think that way.


	20. A Gift

**Sorry for the late update, some shit went down and I lost inspiration. I got rejected by my dream school and I saw no point to writing anymore. But I won't give up. That's not me. But since I drowned myself in three months of self-deprecation, I lost the power to actually write well. So yeah, this is my excuse. Sorry for the late update and for the horrible chapter. Bear with me. I just need to get my shit together. **

* * *

**Chapter 19 - A Gift.**

* * *

[original] CD return %HomeDrive%\  
SET creation=1  
GOTO flood 1 (id) : flood1  
MKDRIR creation%karma%location  
SET/a safety/automatic [return] recip {  
-coordinate[launch] loop reroute }  
Recipient echo: charge/% autorelease}]" recip= 4.7555N/73.9687W  
echo live: (ini) synchro  
[loop] create% abort location 45.222./result else eight  
ECHO GOTO . lux. coor-set/live  
[recipient auto release]  
recip= route coordinate [id]:  
exception=:19901

[start]: 0x0002320, 00348x0011; 000101001010  
end

INITILIAZE...

[initfile_ }

Automatic Synchronous Transmit Receiver booting...  
Information Digitizer processing... [ON]  
- ECHO ON ASTRID Initialized: starting run [loops] comm&5  
moving files...\ = TRACK [[init RE]]  
callFIND - scanreveal #%"327"  
ECHO SET magic3=1 bypass  
null [void] block%/ ...5%  
local FUNCT [ID] {  
var r = D%16...cff:  
var result: .001 }  
if (d== reverse) null:{all}  
else result = live

server[local]001001111000011100#ai

finalizing... **[ACCESS DENIED]**

Fourteen days. For fourteen days has she been stuck in her workshop and for those fourteen days she was in torture. Her life has been changed—and she knew it will never be the same. At least to her.

Every day still remained its routine hackneyed life but a void continued to be unfilled. She'll wake up every morning at six a.m. and take a shower. All the cleaning robots would turn on automatically and clean the floors. One would water the plants in the garden; one would clean the bathroom, or maybe take out the trash. Dummy would prepare her toast and smoothie as he was programmed to do daily. JARVIS would start the day with the weather forecast, and her schedule. She'll go to school, ignore Sierra, and lock herself in the Engineering Department. Then, she would drive back home right after school either in her beat up '69 Camaro [that she bought with her own money she won in a robot competition] or her hot rod red Vespa and do her homework in one hour. Consequently, she would prepare dinner with Dummy and watch TV with the rest of her inventions. It may seem like a lonely life inside a lonely house but Darcy was all right with it. She accepted it and she liked it. She believed that it was the only way to see and feel what Tony did back when he was all alone himself. It was a part of her scientific curiosity and part sentimentality to see what it was like to live with such monotonous robots. In fact, she preferred these robotic prototypes more than humans—more manageable, and amiable. Moreover, it was not entirely lonely in the midst of her little house of solitude. Even with all the machines to accompany her, there was still someone who was there with her. Every day, at exactly 9:00 pm, JARVIS would stop all programs and processes and link to the television in the living room. He then would start a satellite-video call with her parents—Tony and Pepper. They would talk about their day at the hour or more, talk about their feelings, share stories and jokes—and it became like a tradition for them. A routine that seemed to never break.

But now, tradition was broken. Tony is nowhere to be found. Pepper is probably flooded with work. Even Uncle Rhodey was not there to say hi. Now, Darcy was staring at a screen—a blank screen that says, 'Call Failed.'

_Shall I try again, Ms. Darcy?_

Darcy frowned. "No need, JARVIS, thank you," she sighed, pulling her fingers back to her keyboard, "L-let's just go back to work." She stared up again to see the buffering screen. Still no answer. "Yeah, let's just go back to work… ASTRID?"

_All satellites are stable, Darcy. Module A1 is monitoring the upper quadrant of Bagram Air Base for updates on Colonel Rhodes. Runner system A2 is above the lower east coordinates of Kabul and Nuristan. Detecting inbound radio frequencies… unsuccessful._

"I gave him two weeks, this man," she shook her head, "I gave him two _damn_ weeks and he still hasn't made a radio. If we don't get a signal now, I will be convinced that he's just taking a vacation in the desert."

_There is high chance of Mr. Stark is injured, ma'am._

"Shut up. Nobody asked you," she snapped back. She didn't want to be mean to the AI but she didn't want to hear that kind of crap. She didn't want to believe it either. It's an idea that she refused to think about these past weeks. Tony Stark _could be_ injured. He _could be_ seriously hurt and unable to escape to wherever he was thrown into. But she didn't want to think about that. It'll only depress her even further.

"ASTRID, how's Satellite 10?" she breathed out as rubbed her temples, "The annoying one."

_Reverse Triangulation is still in process. Rerouting .bat files to secure servers._

"All right," she sighed, "I'll probably OD on Red Bull anyway so I guess I'll take over."

_Switching to manual control._

GOTO flood 1 (id) : flood1  
MKDRIR creation%karma%location  
SET/a safety/automatic [return] recip {  
-coordinate[launch] loop reroute }  
Recipient echo: charge/% autorelease}]" recip= 4.7555N/73.9687W  
echo live: (ini) synchro  
[loop] create% abort location 45.222./result else eight

ECHO GOTO . lux. coor-set/live  
[recipient auto release]  
recip= route coordinate [id]:

exception=:19901  
[start]: 0x0002320, 00348x0011; 000101001010

end INITILIAZE...

[initfile_ }

Automatic Synchronous Transmit Receiver booting...  
Information Digitizer processing... [ON]

- ECHO ON ASTRID Initialized: starting run [loops] comm&5  
moving files...\ = TRACK [[init RE]]  
callFIND - scanreveal #%"327"?  
ECHO SET magic3=1 bypass  
null [void] block%/ ...5%  
local FUNCT [ID] {  
var r = D%16...cff:  
var result: .001 } if (d== reverse) null:{all}  
else result = live

server[local] 001001111000011100#ai

finalizing... **[ACCESS DENIED]**

The night passed like a breath. To Darcy, the breath was more like a scowl, a never-ending grimace as the night wasn't as productive as she hoped to be. Her eyes burned every time she saw 'ACCESS DENIED' and her muscles ached as it reminded that her body needed sleep. But she continuously reminded herself what her purpose was in this adversity. It was the sheer vexation that a simple thing could block her success kept her eyes open and awake. Well, that only lasted for a few more hours and her body finally succumbed to the fatigue. The outside world progressed without her as she stayed still inside her basement. The sun went up and she didn't know or care. Sunlight was her friend, back then when she used to live in Malibu. Her entire room drowned in the glowing warm rays of golden light. She used to see the dust particles sway to its dance, and hear the ocean waves crashed under her. But now, the light she saw was the blinding glow of her computers. And it was dark in there. It only contained the dark and vast cellarage of her mind, full of letters and numbers. There were no more lullabies from oceans but the beeps of her programs and JARVIS' voices booming throughout her workshop.

_Ms. Darcy, it is 7:30 am.  
"_HOLY SHIT!" she yelled, snapping her eyes open. She could hear alarms echoing throughout the house, machines beeping loudly, and robots moving around. She found herself again drooling over her keyboard, feeling the cold glass surface touching her cheeks. Her curly hair sprawled over her head as she straightened her back quickly. "7:30?! School starts in 20 minutes, JARVIS! Why didn't you wake me up!?" she groaned as she ran upstairs to her room. The house was loud with her grunts and the machines' beeps. The TV turned on automatically, switching to the news channel. The intercom played Apocalyptica. The lights all switched on.

_I did, Ms. Darcy. Twenty-three times._

Darcy groaned louder, and started scrambling through her closet. She found an old sweater and just put it over her t-shirt. She brushed her teeth quickly, and splashed water on her face. She'll take a shower later. Right now, she needed to leave.

"JARVIS, can you order pizza for dinner later? And I need to find my iPod!" she yelled, running to her living room. She began rummaging through a closet hastily.

_Your device is on your desk in the workshop, Ms. Darcy._

"No not the new one! The old one! You know the one I made when I was thirteen or something?" she yelled back, still looking, "I know I left it somewhere in this floor! I need it! It had old reference files that I got from Dad!"

_All your past accessories are stored in the library store room._

"What the hell? I have a storeroom there? Since when?" she cocked her head, ceasing on digging through the closet. While running up the stairs, hopping over the small machines cleaning the floor, she pondered. She doesn't remember any rooms in the library.

_Ms. Potts required a temporary location for Ms. Meredith Lewis' belongings that she left upon her passing._

Darcy's face relaxed into a flat smile. Now, she remembers. When she first moved into the house, Pepper already renovated it with a lot of furniture and books. She informed her that they were old, used ones—ones that she found in Meredith's apartment. So the bed she slept in, it was Meredith's, the mugs, the cutleries, the couch, the vases, the paintings—all her mother's. It helped a lot, to have some of her mother's belongings with her. Darcy felt like she got to know her mother's quirks and antics, living with all the things she touched. She sipped the same cup Meredith would drink in the morning. She hugged the pillows in which she and her infant self slept in. She read all the books that she read. A profound bond, she made with this furniture, an unbreakable link she made with her biological mom.

"O-oh yeah," she hummed as she reached the library floor. The storage door was hard to spot for it mimicked the same wood finished as the bookshelves. She wondered how she could forget about the door. Besides Pepper, she practically stored everything in there.

She took a deep breath and twisted the knob open. A loud gasp resonated throughout the room as a number of boxes began to fall over her. She let out a pained curse, huffing all the dust all over the air, attracting the attention of the robots in the house. All the cleaning machines began to crowd around the mountain of boxes over their dear master.

_Ms. Darcy? The stress levels in your-_

"I'm okay!" she breathed out, pushing her arms out through the pile. "I am all right!" She waved off the robots away, knowing that they wouldn't really help when they don't have any limbic capabilities. They were only made to suck out the dust particles in the atmosphere. "I just forgot that I compressed all my shit in here," she murmured, sitting up to view at the mess she produced, "I also forgot where I put that freaking bag."  
She began rummaging through the pile of boxes, throwing anything she doesn't need over her head. She found a number of robot parts, mechanical arms and legs, old books, wires, various blowtorches, tools, hats, but no bag. She took a moment of silence to stop and just think about where she threw it in exactly. It didn't take more than 10 seconds until she remembered.  
"Ah! I put it in the Christmas box!" she cheered, diving into the boxes again. She smiled widely as she pulled a brown satchel from an orange box. Darcy made no haste to check the bag, and continued to run downstairs towards the door. She took her bag, and the breakfast that DUMMY prepared.

"Okay, JARVIS, I found it! I have to go now, I'll be late," she yelled at the air as she ran out of the house," I'll just take my bike because there will be traffic and I can't be late or I'll get detention. Again. I'll clean up the mess later, okay? Oh and ASTRID, transfer the data into my laptop via ZIPSAT. I'll work on the shit later, okay? Okay."  
Darcy didn't bother to look back, and close the door. It shut close on its own, and the animated house became quiet again, dark and still—waiting for their master to come home again.

* * *

The first half of the day went by fast. Really fast. She wished the morning was longer. So she could have more time. So she could sleep a little longer.

But not everything went her way, as usual, when her Calculus teacher woke her up that it was time for lunch. Darcy dragged herself into the courtyard to buy a small sandwich. Since the library was closed today, she figured she'll do most of work in her usual table. After all, it was a beautiful April afternoon. She knew she has spent too much time locked inside her basement. Maybe doing work under the sun would do her some good… maybe even give her a tan.  
"Wait, no, tans are for douchebags," she thought to herself as she sat on the farthest corner of the courtyard. A lot of students were also outside for lunch, enjoying the sun. Darcy knew they enjoyed it, seeing Sierra lounging on a table dead center of the area. She basked while barking her usual cackles with her boyfriend. Her friends surrounded her too, laughing and making fun of the people around them. Darcy rolled her eyes at the sight, and proceeded to sit alone. She set her sandwich atop her books and took out the contents of her bag: her smoothie, laptop, logbook, earphones, glasses, and the satchel. She took a bite of the sandwich and a sip of her smoothie as she opened her laptop. After putting on her earphones and glasses, she was ready to work.  
_logon: [A.S.T.R.I.D.] initialize… successful/ _

Darcy took a couple of minutes to set the coding for the satellite. She chuckled to herself as she noticed that as the other normal teenagers are out there socializing, talking about clothes and nails, and she was just sitting there nonchalantly hacking a federal satellite. She shrugged. _No big deal. _  
"Now, where was that old thing," she murmured to herself, digging her hand inside the satchel, looking for her old iPod. She hoped her father's old files would be able to help with the programming. She also hoped that her old songs were still stored in it. Maybe some throwback songs would comfort her in this conflict. She took out the first thing that she could grab and she expected the iPod, but instead she found a hard piece of paper. Confused, she pulled the paper out of the bag, and opened it.

It was a card—a Christmas card, from her Uncle Rhodey. It was simple, blank ink upon white cardstock wishing her a Merry Christmas, and hoping that she'll enjoy the encyclopedias she received. Darcy smiled at the memory. It was her 16th Christmas and everybody in her little family was present in her room in the Stark Mansion. It was occasions like that made her cherish the group of remarkable people that cared for her. May it be a birthday, or Christmas, she can never forget that these people were the ones who were with her from the beginning and will stay with her until the end. And she knows she'll willingly do the same for them.

Now this bag has all of the gifts she received that day. She placed the card on top of her books and dug another hand into the satchel, pulling out her gift from Uncle Happy. She wanted to laugh out loud. They were instructional videos on self-defense and a how-to manual on how to use a Taser. Uncle Happy may seem tough, but inside, he's a big worry prick. Putting the DVDs aside, she pulled out Pepper's gift. Her gifts were always so specials, something that would be unique to Darcy and Darcy only. She smiled thoughtfully at the book on her hands, leather bound made from Italy, adorned with intricate embroidery by the finest in Macau. It seemed so extravagant for a calculations book, Darcy didn't dare to think to use it every day, considering that the fate of her current logbook is tattered and full of inane formulas she makes up during classes. She was saving it for more important innovations in the future.

She smiled. Maybe she'll put ASTRID's codes in the book.

Putting Pepper's gift aside, she took one good look of her satchel and grinned wider. She knew whose gift it would be if she was to put her hand inside that bag. Her fingers tingled with excitement as she reached for the gift. Tony's gifts were always extravagant and expensive and she knew they're always one of a kind—and it was.

It was a ball. A purple ball. Squishy and rubbery. Darcy fiddled with it with her hand and grinned. She couldn't wait to try it out. It was bouncy, lightweight and perfectly portable. Its use is flawlessly efficient and it would make her work one hundred percent easier. She eyed the little thing and wondered how she could ever such a thing. She never got to try it out.

_Yeah, _she thought.

She never got to try _any _of them. She never watched the DVDs, Happy gave. She never had the chance to read Rhodey's encyclopedia and she never got to use the fancy calculations book. She forgot about these gifts and that was rare for her because she never forgets anything. How can she forget Tony's gift?

Her smile flattened.

Somber cerulean eyes dropped.

_Oh yeah. That Christmas…_

* * *

oOo

* * *

Darcy's seventeenth Christmas was going to be great. She knew it was going to be. She received three letters of acceptances from her top colleges the other day so Tony made the family Christmas celebration two days earlier. Moreover, he was needed to celebrate Christmas day with Obadiah. It would be suspicious if Tony declined the sudden invitation so there they were, in Darcy's room, just finished a feast and was preparing to play _It's a Wonderful Life _with some popcorn and licorice. Happy went to cook the popcorn while Rhodey set up the movie. Pepper was busy hugging her daughter after giving her the calculations book.

"Uh, uh, no," Tony interjected, "You haven't seen _my _gift." Darcy smirked. Pepper raised an eyebrow. There was always competition between the two.

"How many times am I going to tell you that there is no con test, Tony?" Pepper sighed, tilting her head.

"You're just afraid that you'll lose." Tony retorted.

"My gifts won two years in a row, if I have to remind you."

"Aha! So there is a contest Ms. Potts." He pointed at her jokingly. Darcy giggled. She just watched the two silently continue to exchange witty retorts. Those two always bicker but it always ends up in smiles and laughs. She never said anything about it. She never commented or talked about it. It remained a thought. A fantasy. Ever since the moment when Pepper told her that she was her real mother, that she was a merely a legal guardian, she wondered _why not?_

They have been together all their lives. Pepper was there when it all began. Darcy knew that Meredith is irreplaceable. She was a treasure to everyone, to her, both Tony and Pepper. But everyone deserves love. Tony and Pepper deserve love, and they deserve to be together after many years of being together. Darcy knew that they had feelings for each other but too timid in their own ways to actually admit it. So it became a wish. Darcy only thought of it as a small wish, a fantasy that maybe, just maybe, Pepper doesn't have to be just her legal guardian. Maybe she can finally call her as her real Mom. Maybe Tony would finally have a wife. Darcy never talked about it to anyone. Not to JARVIS, not to Pepper, Tony, Jeanne, Ivy, Alex. Not even Peter. She silently invented her own little world, making imaginary fantasies about how she can finally call to them Mom and Dad freely.

"Come on, kid. Open it," Tony broke her thoughts. Darcy shook her head momentarily and switched her gaze upon a somewhat large looking box. It was extravagant, compliments of Tony Stark, being adorned with a giant red bow. Tony leaned back in arrogance as she took off the cover.

"I'm surprised that you didn't use one dollar bills this time as fillers," Pepper remarked as Darcy removed the tissue paper fillings.

"We're in a recession, Pep, please be more sensitive," he replied deadpanned. The red-haired assistant was ready to create another comment, but the two's attention was ceased by a loud gasp.

"No way!" Darcy exclaimed, taking out the contents of the box to reveal a smaller white box. She only needed to see that one symbol of a minimalistic silver apple and she immediately knew what it was.

"Please, don't shout. I know you love me," Tony nodded at himself. Darcy shook her head and yelled anyway, "You got me a new iPod! This is the Touch!"

The girl quickly opened the box and took off the packaging hassles. "Now, it's all synced and set up. You and I both know that Steve Jobs is a _little_ bit slow so his touch-screen sensors are not as accurate as the holograms we have for JARVIS. But do not fret, I replaced them with the graphene sensors we have back in the lab and I expanded the memory to 1 Terabyte, packed with the ZIPSAT cloud sharing and infrared sharing."

"But Motorola already invented the infrared sharing thing," Darcy narrowed her eyes, leading Tony to snap his fingers loudly, "But can infrared waves do this? Press play."

The curious girl immediately tapped 'play' on her new device and expected music to blast through the iPod's speakers but everything was quiet. Pepper, Rhodey and Happy looked on, expecting the same result but was astonished of the outcome. A portion of the windows that surrounded them began to glow a light hue of blue. Darcy swiftly stood up from the couch to go near the fascinating new thing and saw various blue boxes popping up the cold glass. Then a cerulean blue disc popped out, blinking, _Michael Bublé – Winter Wonderland._ Darcy widely smiled as the song reverberated throughout the room softly. She chose another song from the playlist, listened with childish wonder and again, and again, until Pepper gently asked her to stop.

"Sorry," she grinned at Pepper, then turned cheerfully to Tony, "But Dad, this is _legendary_!"

The genius only scoffed with a prideful smirk, "Eh, it's just a prototype. I could've incorporated a high-transmitter to augment the electrical field of the device. A bigger electrical field aside from the charges of the human body wouldn't require sensors such as said Japanese infrared waves and you could've hacked into any electrical device with ease but the world is not ready for that. Maybe wait two years; we could be controlling people's monitors with our phones. "

"So I guess I'm stuck with this high-powered iPod then?" Darcy waved the device with a knowing smirk.

"High-powered _phone," _Tony pointed out. Darcy gasped cheerfully, and brought the iPod close to her chest, "This is _excellent, _Dad! Thank you so much!" She aimed towards him for a hug but he stopped her with a reminding laugh, "I'm afraid there are more gifts inside the box,"

"You got me more?!"

"Why not?" he shrugged, "Come on, go check it out." Darcy set the iPod on the coffee table to dig into the big box. She impatiently flung the fillings out, eager to see what else could top the awesome iPod. What else could be so much greater than an MP3 player that has been modified by Tony Stark—moreover, it can call! Tony would have to get something _incomparable_ to be able to supersede the—

Darcy stopped immediately and took her hands off the box. She eyed it with blank eyes but her voice quivered. "What is this…" she uttered softly as she stared at the bottom of the box. Pepper leaned in closer curious of what could make Darcy star struck. The view revealed two things: a ball and a tattered book. The ball was small and purple. It looked like any bouncy ball that could be bought in a dollar store and the other one was a just a leather covered journal. The book looked dusty, with its antiquated pages almost falling out. Pepper looked back at Tony, also confused. Such petty-looking things don't seem to fit the expression, "Saving the best for last."

"Those are amorphous gloves," Tony breathed out with a flat smile, "and the book, it's a journal. I found it in my lab…"

Pepper continued to stare at the book. "Whose…?"

The father and the daughter made eye contact. Blue eyes met warm brown ones. Tony blinked and his gaze turned soft and his voice quiet. "I think it's Meredith's… Your mother."

Everyone in the room silenced. The popcorn popped in the background while Happy looked at the family in the living area. Rhodey stopped what he was doing and turned to them silently. Pepper stared quietly. She never knew Meredith had kept a diary. She was never the type. Mean while, Darcy inhaled sharply. She only knew her real mother from stories and photographs. She experienced her warmth and love vicariously through the house she inherited. But she never had the chance to know her more intimately, more personal—her mind. A journal would be best. It could contain so many things, her feelings, her wishes, her memories. And she wanted to know every single of them.

"Well, I haven't opened it, you know?" Tony broke her thoughts, "I feel like she'll come haunting me back if I ever opened her diary. So I'm giving this to you then as the overly dramatic father who'd sacrifice anything for his beloved daughter." Darcy bent down to get the journal. The texture of the leather was slippery as it was aged with dust. It was heavy, she observed. She didn't know what to feel. She had her mother's feelings, her memories, all in her hands. For the first time in her life, she didn't know how to use the knowledge and wisdom given to her.

"Hey, Dad?" she started off with a whisper, blue eyes pensively looking at the journal.

"Yeah, babe?"

She looked up with a thoughtful gaze. She took a moment to look at the view of Pepper and Tony together. They have given so much. They have sacrificed everything. Now, she can know how much Meredith has given up for her. She smiled lightly, "Thank yo—

_You have a guest, sir. _

The curly-haired girl was cut off by the autonomous voice. Tony suddenly stood up while Pepper told Darcy to save it for later. After all, they all had the time in the world.

"Fantastic. The pizza guy's here," he clapped his hand, and began to head towards the door. He whistled his way towards the door, when suddenly, an alarming armed stopped. He turned to his life and noticed Rhodes standing next to him with questioning eyes.

"Pizza? Why did you order pizza? I told you, I brought my famous cranberry broccoli casserole," the man cocked his head. Tony inhaled sharply with a sheepish smile. Pepper and Darcy grinned at the background. Rhodey narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Uh, it's gone."

"What do you mean 'It's gone?" I just—"

Tony coughed, "Dummy ate it."

Everybody, except Rhodey, laughed as the suspected robot in the kitchen tilted its claw in confusion. Before her uncle could instigate any further, Darcy clapped her hands and stood up. She declared that she'll get the pizza instead. Happy immediately remarked that it's dangerous for her to do that. They just can't have any random person opening up the door of the Stark household. The girl waved her hand aloofly, replying that she'll go with the usual Happy's-smart-niece cover. She just had to get downstairs to the kitchen. After all, her Christmas gift for Tony is hidden there.

The door silently closed behind her and the rest of the people in the room resumed their activities. Rhodey gave up on his casserole and looked for plates to put the pizza on. Happy went to get drinks and popcorn while Tony made himself comfortable on the couch. Meanwhile, Pepper suddenly straightened her back and rubbed her neck. Tony noticed her eyebrows scrunch together, grey eyes pensive and puzzled.

"Ah, don't feel bad about the casserole, Pep. I know you hated it too," Tony muttered stoically with eyes staring into the screen. The woman shook her head, "It's not that…"

"Then are you realizing that I won this time?" he inwardly smirked, pressing buttons on the remote for the movie to start. Pepper shook her head again, eyes narrowing, "No, it just feels like I'm forgetting something…"

"You're forgetting about how I just gave the best gift ever."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be immature," she sighed, "I feel like there's something I should've done today."

"You should've gotten a better gift," he mumbled mockingly, "Seriously, a calculations book?"

The red-haired assistant turned her head at him with a vicious glare. She snapped at him to stop talking about the presents. There was something off today but she couldn't remember what and she hated that. She is known for her efficiency not for her incompetency. The tingling in her fingertips reminded her that it was something direly important but she just can't remember what it was. Moreover, she can't focus if her boss keeps jibing at her about the presents.

With a silent a-ha, she reached for her phone to see if there was anything in the schedule that could remind her. Just as she was opening her calendar, the door slammed open.

Everybody in the room jumped at the unexpected bang of the door. All eyes were on Darcy power-walking towards her room. She uttered no words, her somber eyes monotonously directed towards her bedroom. They waited in flabbergasted silence until she popped out with her satchel on her shoulder. Rhodes and Happy exchanged questioning looks. Tony coolly finished his glass of scotch while Pepper watched her with a gaped mouth, frozen in place. Darcy didn't meet anyone's eyes while she stomped towards the coffee table. No one asked anything as she took all of her gifts and shoved them inside her bag. Tony raised his brows as he couldn't read the situation. All he saw wavy brown hair swaying around angrily in front of him. As soon as she packed everything in her bag, she pivoted towards the kitchen. It was when everyone witnessed her snatch a bottle of wine from the ice that Pepper decided to speak up.

"H-Honey, what's wrong? Do you need money? What's with the—

"Nothing. I just forgot something," she muttered lowly as she made her way towards the exit. Electric blue eyes were somehow grim yet enervated in some way no one can comprehend. Her voice feigned innocence but the way she just did her whole act with the satchel and the wine, Pepper was anxious of what went wrong.

"What did you forget?" Pepper was reluctant to ask. Darcy shrugged aloofly and turned the knob to leave. It was only when the door was almost closed, and the girl replied again enough for everyone to hear.

"I forgot my Taser."

Pepper's ginger eyebrows furrowed while the door slammed closed. She repeated Darcy's last remark in her thoughts, and it didn't seem to make sense. Why would she need her Taser? Why did she come back to get her bag? Why the wine? Why the-

"Oh my god," she whispered suddenly, throwing her hands over her mouth to cover her gasp. Tony turned to her with curious eyes, silent with the same confusion by the events. She could only reply with another gasp and a glance at her phone. The space for December 23rd was marked red, and she knew well what it meant. Blank blue-grey eyes stared blankly at the calendar, uncertain of what to do.

Her hands tightened around the device in anger. All her life as Tony's assistant, there were circumstances where she had to cancel appointments. It was either because of Tony's irresponsibility to be a drunkard, or to make room for Darcy. This time, she failed to achieve such task. For the first time ever, she forgot to the cancel this appointment. _The _appointment.

"I-I can't believe this," she closed her eyes tightly.

Tony was puzzled. Everyone was. "Hey, what's happening?"

She shook her head. "The date. I forgot the date. The date, Tony, I forgot to cancel it."

Tony knew it was the 23rd and so what about it? He couldn't think straight. He only answered with another sip of his glass. Happy decided to pop in, and appeared behind Pepper and snatched the phone from her. It took a moment for him to adjust his eyesight and then he finally read what was so important. And all he could say is, "_Oh shit._"

"Can someone freaking elaborate?" Tony snarled.

Happy gulped. "You had an appointment tonight. Well, two now that I think about it."

"Two? Is it with Obie?"

"Uh, no. Remember last month? Remember Miss November?" he smiled weakly.

"Miss who?"

"Well, uh, this month, I meant, MAXIM's monthly edition."

Tony snapped his hands, "Yeah, this month, they have the twins. What were their names…"

It took a minute everyone in the room to realize what was occurring. Pepper was already in the door when Tony caught up. Rhodey cursed out loud and made a run for it downstairs. Happy scratched his head, unable to think. Tony could only shout "_Oh shit!"_

Darcy remembered those twins very well. Sunny and Luna. Cute, tall, blonde models for MAXIM's December edition. She also recalled their outfits that day. They wore long, black trench coats that reached down their knees. They were hesitant to take it off when she offered to hang them. She offered them wine, but they refused. The two only asked for Tony, giggling loudly while so. And Darcy was done. It doesn't take a genius like her to take a hint.

Once the rest of the company reached the living area with her and the twins, she took the cue to kiss Pepper on the cheek and muttered goodbye. She pulled Happy away from the crowd and asked him to drive her to the airport. Her father was drunk, and she didn't see a reason to continue their Christmas celebration. So she left him and never bothered to touch the gifts again. She went back to New York and spent the rest of Christmas on her bed, alone.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Can't believe they ran down to check that I haven't Tasered those two whorebags," she snarled quietly as she rolled purple ball on her hand. She squeezed it tight and bounced it on the table. "Can't freaking believe that those two little shits thought I was the freaking maid! Goddamnit, do I look like the fucking help?!"

She huffed loudly, letting the ball roll around the table. As she eyed the bouncing ball, she realized that she was getting angry at Tony again. She shouldn't be angry at him again. He does have flaws. She can't change the way he is and she has to learn how to put up with his escapades. But Darcy couldn't help expecting Tony to shun away the girls for it was a special occasion. Tony Stark always reserves special occasions for her. But Tony continued to flirt with the girls. Pepper stood there awkwardly while Happy and Rhodey watched with repressed disappointment. Darcy wanted to scream and douse the twins with the wine anything to set everything straight but she saw it. She realized that Tony Stark was always a Stark. As long as her secret remained as it is, billionaire Tony Stark will always be billionaire Tony Stark- not billionaire Tony Stark the father. As much as she hated it, she put up with it. Pepper warned her in her younger years that Tony Stark may not be the always committed as she think she is. He may be dedicated to his work, to her, but there will be always the loophole, the scar of an unattended childhood, the hole of unsupervised maturation, the void of a careless life. He will always be that playboy. Also, she shouldn't be angry at someone who might be potentially be dead right now.

"No, he can't be dead," she shook her head vigorously, "What the hell am I thinking? Holy shit, I need more sleep."

After taking a deep breath, she took a long sip of her smoothie and plugged the old iPod into her laptop. She also took the chance to begin writing on her new calculations book. She shouldn't be thinking about pessimistic things. She was not raised that way. There is always out. Like Tony always used to describe, if she ever had to stuck to crawl under the wire, cut the fucking wire. To whatever hellhole he's in, he'll get out and she'll be there to get him. Maybe she could invent something. Something radical. Something life-changing.

After all, she has a new pair of indestructible gloves at her—

"Looking for this?" a voice came from behind. Darcy rolled her eyes right away and groaned. It became a reflex for her whenever she hears Sierra's shrill voice. Before she could explode again, she took another huge sip of her smoothie to calm herself down.

Sierra frowned when her supposed victim didn't turn around to face her and continued on doing nerdy stuff. After hearing a sigh from her, she caught a glimpse of the smoothie. A gasp of disgust flashed her features, dropping the ball on the ground.

"What is _that?!_" she exclaimed, "What the hell are you drinking?! It's green!"

Darcy paused for a moment to look at what she was actually drinking, and then closed her book to resumed typing on her laptop. "Chlorophyll."

"What?"

"I'm drinking chlorophyll," she confirmed, finally turning around to face the woman, "Can you pick my ball, please?"

Sierra stayed still for a moment, gaping at her. Did she actually mean _chlorophyll_? Plant chlorophyll? Darcy stared at her back with unfeeling eyes.

"It's a good anti-oxidant and source of nutrients," she explained with a defeated scowl, "Considering what I have been doing to myself these past days, I needed it."

Sierra took a step back. She knew Darcy was a weirdo but not a drug—

"Calm your nips, I'm not on drugs or anything. I'm just—can you just pick up my ball please?" Darcy quickly raised her hand up, "You know what never mind, I don't expect you to do what I ask, even after four years of "please leave me the fuck alone", you're still here up my shit. Geez, you're more over controlling than my mother. Do you love me that much, Jones?"

Sierra couldn't reply a single reply. She was not yet used to talking Darcy. And the pure impudence from her was simply intimidating. Darcy twisted her body around to reach for her purple ball on the floor. Amidst in stunned silence, the blonde girl caught a glimpse of what was on Darcy's screen. As expected, it was all letters, numbers. She couldn't understand anything.

She weakly laughed. "What the hell are you doing there? Hacking the government?"

Darcy immediately stopped midway from getting the ball with widened eyes. She looked sideways, up and down, looking for a plausible excuse. Sierra can't be that smart. "I uh—was just testing some of my Dad's codes," she mumbled, grabbing the ball from the floor. She raised her gaze to meet the blonde's eyes and bounced the ball on her hand, "Some nerdy stuff. You wouldn't understand."

"Hey! Is that a handball?!" another voice came in, and the two girls immediately recognized it to be Chuck's. His footsteps were heavy as he ran towards them. His face was red, and he looked like he was laughing for more than hour. Darcy had no time to react as he snatched the ball from her hand and began bouncing it high and hard. She noticed Sierra take on a smug smile as she kissed her boyfriend on his cheek. She knew it. She _fucking _knew it.

"Hey, Greasy Darcy, do you own a light blue bike?" he started asking with an innocent tone, ending with a snicker and a glance at his girlfriend.

Darcy squeezed her hand tightly. A thousand curses were ready to come out of her mouth but she couldn't do it. She was just too tired. She can't take it anymore. "What did you do this time?" she snarled.

More laughter came from the couple. "Oh nothing. It's just that I don't think it should be called a bike now… considering it has no wheels," Chuck snickered as he gestured her to look behind him. Two of the other jocks stood by the courtside doors, holding two wheels. One of them started pulling the spokes one by one.

The two expected her to fight back, scream like last time. Seeing her angry last time made them feel even more powerful, and they wanted to feel it again. But Darcy didn't say anything. All she did was turn around to gather all her stuff back into her back pack. Once her laptop and all her gifts were safely inside her bag, she took her smoothie and took one last sip.

The rest went into Sierra's shirt.

A bloodcurdling shriek echoed throughout the courtyard, bringing everyone's attention towards them. Sierra was absolutely flabbergasted, continuing to scream as she felt the cold, green liquid ooze down her shirt. Many people began to laugh at them, bringing entertainment to the ones they have victimized in the past. Even Chuck's friends were laughing.

Chuck didn't know what to do. His eyes quivered as he tried looking for a napkin to wipe the juice of her shirt. Sierra kept screaming at him telling him to do something but he just didn't know what to do. He was even considering pulling some freshman's shirt to wipe it off. However, someone stopped him. Within a second, he saw nothing but a pair of dark cerulean eyes.

He froze at the spot when Darcy pulled his body close to hers. She grasped him by his collar tightly as she whispered venomously, "You feel that?" she raised her eyebrows. Chuck gulped deeply. Something was poking him at his groin. "I asked if you feel that, Chuck," she growled, poking him again. The boy nodded his head in assent.

"You know what I hate, _Chuck_?" Darcy enunciated his name with abhorred hatred. "I hate bullies. I fucking despise them."

"Do you know what _you_ are, _little boy_?" she tightened her grasp. He may a foot taller than her but the man was shaking in his shoes. "Answer!" Darcy snarled.

"I'm a bully. I-I'm a bully," he replied.

"And you know what happens to bullies?" she hissed, poking him again, "They get _Tasered."_

No one heard her but him. No one saw the Taser but him. No one could feel it but him. He didn't want to be Tasered. Moreover, he didn't want to be shocked in the balls. His mind says fight back, she's only a little girl. But his guts churned. It twisted until he couldn't breathe anymore. His head began to spin and the last thing he heard was Darcy picking up her purple ball from his hand, cursing at him before he fainted to the ground.

"That was my mother's bike, you dirtbag."

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Thanks for sending a cab for me, ASTRID," she smiled weakly as she jumped on her computer chair. Her day immediately ended as bell rang after the whole incident. She asked herself why she keeps on involving herself with those people. Good thing that couple still had a pride to not tell on her. Pepper would have another fit, or maybe she would even get expelled for threatening another student with an illegal device. Honestly, why is she still in high school?

Right. She wanted this.

_ I have also ordered replacement wheels for your bicycle, Darcy. _

"You're fantastic," she deeply sighed, "I'd like you even more if you tell me the status of the programs."

_Mr. Stark's old coding and algorithms has been successfully incorporated with the .bat files. Status is pending…_

"All right, keep on doing the permutations I typed up earlier until access is granted. I'm gonna go upstairs and get more Red Bull." She started to dash towards the stairs, when she remembered about her satchel. Excitement suddenly filled her system. She never got to read it. She never got to see it when she left that Christmas. Tony's second gift.

Meredith's journal.

She quickly went to grab her satchel and raced towards the kitchen. She took out the contents of the bag as fast as possible and with a shot of Red Bull, she pulled out the journal.

It was smaller than a normal notebook. It was none the fancy diary she would expect in movies. It was only a black leather book, with a red ribbon stuck between the pages. It bore neither extravagant designs nor florid decorations. It was simple.

Two porcelain fingers gently lifted the cover to reveal the first page. The pages were yellow of age, and wafted off a certain smell only nostalgia can give. The first page had nothing written on it but two letters inscribed on the lower corner with black ink. Darcy's eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the initials. "Weird," she muttered to herself as she squinted her eyes to see if she was seeing clearly. She even took out her glasses to make sure. Yeah it was weird. If this was her mother's journal, then why does it say "S."?

Curiosity filled her system as she flipped to the second page and at the glimpse of the date, she confirmed that Tony was definitely drunk out of his mind when he gave her this journal. Nonetheless, as she began to read the first entry, even if it wasn't her mother's, she still got to see inside one of the greatest lives in history.

* * *

_June 19, 1943_

_ Dr. Erskine gave me this book so suddenly, so I'm guessing this is his version of a late birthday present. "It's a journal," he said before leaving my apartment, "It would be help if you start writing on it right away. After all, you're going to be making history."_

_ Hell yeah, I'm making history. I just hope everything go swell on Tuesday. _

_S._

* * *

After reading the first entry, Darcy was hooked. She could finish the whole journal in one sitting, since it was unusually thin. But she thought that it was no fun. She shouldn't waste such an irreplaceable thing so she vowed to read not all of it right away. Cherishing it was the best way, savor the knowledge that comes before her. So she promised herself to read one entry a day. It was a great distraction for awhile, and she could not wait for tomorrow.

_Ms. Darcy, your presence is requested downstairs._

JARVIS' disembodied voice boomed throughout the kitchen. Darcy chugged her Red Bull right away and placed the journal back into the satchel. Right. There was no time for distractions. She still needed to find her father.

"Something wrong, ASTRID?" Darcy called out as made her way down the basement staircase. She ran her fingers through hair, and sniffed, "Don't tell me you've already used all of the combinations I gave you. I'm pretty sure I made like three hundred of them. Thank god for Dad's log files, I could neve—holy shit."

She stepped nimbly on the last step of the stairs and gaped at the screens around her desk. It was her first time seeing such thing, after fourteen days. She wanted to jump, jump high but she was too tired so she just stared at green, blinking letters of her screen. It was not until her AI's voice reverberated throughout the room, with what seemed like a tone of triumph, pulled her mouth into a victorious smirk.

_M.I.N.D. Satellite status: Firewall breached. Security codes encrypted. Internal Program Language encrypted. Defense algorithm bypassed… **[Access Granted]**._

* * *

oOo

* * *

The sky was bright as ever, brighter than usual with no clouds floating around. The people around him were busy as they should be, walking around looking at data, talking to headphones, scouring electronically maps and information. He put his hands over his waist as he turned his body to the right, tapping on his computer screens. He felt his presence come closer behind him and he didn't need to turn around to see who it was.

"Where is it heading to?" he muttered, swiping his fingers over the image of a satellite.

"The Kabul vicinity, sir."

"That's where it's calibrating to? Huh…" he sounded amused, confusing the people around him.

"I don't understand, boss. Our people were close to finding out who was hacking our satellites."

"But you haven't," he reminded him, "Whoever this is, is playing you. He got you twisted around his finger blocking off your access. Hell, if we waited a little longer, he would've actually breached our firewall with whatever file he was using today."

"That's what I don't understand, boss. You ordered us to stop the trace and decrease security to grant him access."

"It's where the reverse trace passed through got me interested," he smirked, "Tell me, Agent. Do you know anyone else living in these coordinates?" He gestured him to come closer to the screen, tapping a glowing blue map. The man immediately stepped back, dumbfounded, "That's not possible. According to the intel, _he's _missing."

"Then who the hell is using Tony Stark's private servers?"

* * *

**This chapter used to be very long. About 20,000 words. It was a mix of a Christmas story that I originally planned to update for winter break but I was angry at myself so I deleted like 10 pages out of frustration. Sorry. **

**So my plan for this, well a plan to follow... chapter 20-22: Iron Man movie, then after that will be the Iron Man 2/Thor arc. Okay?**


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